Diane’s On Coventry, an LGBT-friendly restaurant, opened at 1852 Coventry Road in 1980. Diane’s was named after owner-operator Diane Goodman. Diane’s sold a variety of food and drinks and featured separate “bar-lounge” and restaurant dining areas. The restaurant’s dining was decorated with “wood-beamed ceiling, dark woods, brick, and hanging greenery” and maintained cozy, relaxed atmosphere. Diane’s bar-lounge area was slightly more casual and occasionally hosted live performances by a local harpist. Diane’s closed in 1981. Another LGBT-friendly restaurant, the Turkey Ridge Tavern, opened at the same address several months later.
Additional information coming soon.
Resources
- “Diane’s On Coventry.” Plain Dealer. December 19, 1980.
- “Diane’s On Coventry.” Plain Dealer. October 31, 1980.
- Goldman, Barbara. “Diane’s: Good Food, Little Extras.” Plain Dealer. October 17, 1980.
- Hirschfeld, Mary. “Restaurant Work Spells Relief For Two Cerebral Types.” Plain Dealer. August 29, 1980.
- Listed in Metra Magazine.
- “Metro Record – Cleveland Heights.” Plain Dealer. March 17, 1981.
Hi…it’s Diane of “Diane’s on Coventry”–I was just telling some friends that many years ago, I owned a restaurant/bar; I did a search to see what I could find to send them about it, and your site came up. Lovely to see this. The harpist actually played in the dining room, but we had live music–duets and trios, mostly–in the bar a couple of nights a week, as well.
I’m so glad you described us as a LGBT-friendly restaurant; we had lots of LGBT staff and welcomed all customers as long as they were nice (it was Coventry in 1979/80–sometimes there were some not-so-nice people hanging out there).
Anyway, much thanks for this. Brought back a lot of nice memories. DG