Conversations with Zachary Bond

Today we’d like to introduce you to Zachary Bond. 

Hi Zachary, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
My career started when I was 14 yrs. old bussing tables at Silvestro’s Depot Cafe in Painesville. I worked with a tight-knit crew that quickly became a second family to me. Work ethic was celebrated and I got a gained a sense of pride for being part of the team. I worked in corporate kitchens after high school to pay my way through college but soon found that the restaurant industry was where I belonged. I got a job working at the Lakeshore Eatery around 2007 and fell in love with cooking scratch food, which led me down a path that included being sous chef at restaurants like John Palmer’s Bistro and L’albatros Brasserie, as well as chef de cuisine at Ballantine Gastropub, Willoughby Brewing Company and Table 45 at the Intercontinental Hotel. During the pandemic, I spent more time with my family and subsequently started feeling the imbalance in my life due to long hours and stress in the industry. In 2021, I received a call from John McGlaughlin, the owner of the Lakeshore Eatery, inquiring my interest in purchasing his restaurant that included a newly acquired liquor license. After long thought and conversation with my wife, I agreed. After the experience I had just gone through, I decided to take a new approach at owning and operating a restaurant. I decided to open the Spot-on Lakeshore, only open for breakfast and lunch, with focus on a relaxed brunch atmosphere. Live entertainment on the weekends and availability in the evenings for private events such as birthday parties, rehearsal dinners, and celebration of life that people had put off due to the pandemic, but also a dinner series that has included a speakeasy cocktail and food pairing with a four-piece jazz band and soon coming wine dinners with M Cellars as well as cocktails pairings with local distilleries. It has been a terrifying journey as there are no blueprints to follow or places in the area that have done it this way successfully, but that has been the most exhilarating aspect that has kept my passion alive and a very engaged, talented crew at my side. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Definitely not haha. Being a sole owner, getting a fresh restaurant/ concept alive has been terrifying but also incredibly rewarding. Covid surprised us with the Omicron variant. Balancing the chef, accountant, human resources director, and head dishwasher responsibilities. Rising cost of goods. The list goes on, but time with my family and being able to steer the ship in the right direction makes it all worth it. 

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
We are a scratch kitchen that focusses relentlessly on improvement and growth. From our very young and talented sous chef Max Mrazek to our incredibly hard-working, energetic staff, we are always trying to find out what we can do to provide a better product and experience for our guests. We offer menu items and personalities that you can NOT find anywhere else. 

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Risk is the only way to achieve success. I have invested everything to make this succeed. My entire staff has done the same as we are building a concept from scratch and answering brand new questions every day. 

Contact Info:

• Website: thespotonlakeshore.com
• Instagram: thespot_lakeshore
• Facebook: The Spot on Lakeshore