Family of local business owners purchases the former Carrie Cerino’s in North Royalton

NORTH ROYALTON, Ohio – A family of local business owners operating convenience stores, gas stations, hotels and small restaurants has acquired the former Carrie Cerino’s Italian Restaurant on Ridge Road.

The family members – who purchased the Carrie Cerino’s property Dec. 9 for $500,000 under the company name MAHA Laxmi 8922 Inc. – plan to own and operate a party center there and lease the restaurant space to a restaurateur.

Pratik Patel, president of MAHA Laxmi 8922, said they will call the party hall The Royalton Palace. They hope to open in spring 2023.

“My family is Indian, and in our community it’s hard to find a party hall,” Patel, 33, told cleveland.com. “This will make it easy for us to host an event, and it’s right down the street from our temple (the Greater Cleveland Shiva Vishnu Temple).”

“But the party center won’t be just for the Indian community,” Patel said. “It’s for everyone.”

Patel said he and his family haven’t yet signed a restaurant for the building. He said they’re not looking for any particular type of restaurant.

“Italian would be nice, though, because people are used to an Italian restaurant there,” Patel said.

Patel said he and his family will hire an architect to help bring the building up to city code and renovate it.

“We’re glad to see the building occupied, hopefully shortly, and look forward to working with them,” Tom Jordan, the city’s community development coordinator, told cleveland.com.

MAHA Laxmi consists of about 10 members of the Patel family. Among the local businesses they individually own and operate are Wayback Burgers in Broadview Heights, Whitney Beverage & Deli in Strongsville and M & J Beverage & Deli in Parma. They own two Deli-4-Less businesses in Broadview Heights.

The Patels also run businesses in Kent, Grafton, Macedonia and other Northeast Ohio municipalities.

MAHA Laxmi bought the Carrie Cerino’s property from Marc Glassman, founder and owner of Marc’s Deeper Discount Stores. Jordan said Glassman had intended to keep the building a restaurant and events center but his plans fell through.

In addition to paying $500,000 for the land and building, the Patels spent another $325,000 on the equipment inside the former restaurant, for a total of $825,000.

Carrie Cerino’s, on Ridge between Sprague and Albion roads, closed abruptly in February 2020. The restaurant had originally opened in 1963 and stands on a 13-acre parcel.