For nearly two decades, Matt Fish ran Cleveland’s loudest love letter to comfort food. Melt Bar & Grilled started as a small bar in Lakewood in 2006 and grew into something the city took personally: 13 locations, a tattoo family 1,000 members strong, prime-time national TV appearances and grilled cheese concoctions that more than a few Clevelanders would tell you saved their lives.
Before all that, Matt spent more than 10 years as a touring musician, and he never stopped seeing a restaurant the way he saw a band: every menu a setlist, every plate a song, every night its own show.
Proof Public House is his next chapter — a punk rock ’n’ roll bar and restaurant with an unapologetic attitude, a bold, chef-driven menu that changes with the seasons and a curated bar program to match. It’s the kind of place where the staff knows your usual order and the playlist tells you something about who’s working that night.
This is more than a comeback. It’s a whole new record.