CLEVELAND, Ohio – If you think Terry Francona became involved with a local restaurant company because he’s a total foodie who loves to saunter to different restaurants and hobnob with chefs, you’d be wrong.
“But when you get a night off,” he said, “I want to get off my feet. You have to remember I was pretty beat up for a while there, too. I wasn’t feeling great. It wasn’t like, ‘Oh man, I got a night off, I’m going out on the town.’ I went to bed.” Francona and Jason Beudert of Hangry Brands were connected through mutual friend Curtis Danburg, vice president of communications and community impact for the Guardians. Beudert knew Danburg from his days at Delaware North. Francona trusts Beudert, and Beudert comes up with ideas. Lots of ideas.
Even the menu is presented in a fun way. Titled “Not your parents’ steakhouse,” it offers a few tributes to Francona’s family. “It’s very low-cal,” he joked. “It’s like corn dogs but with crab. I could have eaten about seven of those.” “That’s when you find out about leadership. It’s easy when things are going well; you pat them on the back. But when things don’t go well, that’s when you find out.