Small business spotlight: Cassa Kitchen
Left to right: Bassel Aleahra (owner) and Khalid Janah (head chef)
Cassa Kitchen & Catering is a mix of Mediterranean and Moroccan food owned by Bassel Aleahra. This delicious, fast, casual restaurant perfectly matches the lively pace of Downtown Cleveland. Chef Khalid Janah delivers fresh, healthy, convenient food perfect for any audience. Aleahra and Janah love to meet people traveling through Cleveland, and their visitors and regulars alike praise the food. I can speak firsthand about how tasty and flavorful their bowls are. With a make-your-own style option, you are given the choice of hundreds of combinations. Popular among Cleveland State University students, is the restaurant’s free reward program; buy nine meals the tenth is free.
Build your own wrap, bowl or salad from their extensive list of ingredients.
The restaurant was a huge hit when it opened in January 2020, but since then they have faced many difficulties. Cassa Kitchen was not immune to the struggles covid brought, this included temporarily closing the restaurant for six months. Since it reopened struggles have included employee shortages and food costs increasing. Although it may cost the restaurant more to purchase the food, Cassa Kitchen remains determined to keep prices low and affordable for their customers. Despite their challenges, Cassa Kitchen remains a dedicated partner in Downtown Cleveland, volunteering their time and supplies to provide 250 meals every month to Norma Herr Women’s Shelter.
Cassa Kitchen only uses the freshest, most delicious ingredients resulting in food that’s as beautiful as it is delicious.
In addition to the in-house food, Cassa Kitchen offers catering for any event! Although their menu features delicious items such as chicken shawarma, meatball kafta Cassa Quesadilla, Casablanca Chicken, Palmyra Falafel, and Charmoula Shrimp they are willing to adapt their menu to whatever your catering needs are!
Cassa Kitchen connects to the restaurant Bon Appetite, another Downtown Cleveland favorite. This restaurant, also owned by Aleahra, was bought in 2017. Aleahra saw the opportunity to expand in this great Downtown location and bought what was soon to be Cassa Kitchen in 2019 to renovate.
The employees are very friendly and greet you with a smile. The venue also includes an upstairs room which is free to use and is perfect for staff outings or family dinners. Cassa Kitchen keeps its quality high and its atmosphere light and friendly making it the perfect place to stop in and get refueled for your day.
Cassa Kitchen was one of the early adopters of the DCA CleCoin Downtown Dollars. With CleCoin Downtown Dollars, use your preloaded gift card to make purchases at Cassa Kitchen or any of the other participating Downtown Cleveland businesses the same you would any credit card. CleCoin Downtown Dollars make a great gift for friends, family, co-workers and employees and is a great way to support your favorite local businesses. To learn more about CleCoin and how it can be used, click here.