Customer Success // Cento
Wasserstrom & Cento Reach a Major Milestone
After opening 99 restaurants, Cameron Mitchell embarked on a passion project. He had always wanted to open an old-world, Italian fine-dining restaurant. After finding an incredible location in historic German Village, nestled within Columbus, Ohio, Cento—which means 100 in Italian—was born.
Cento, a tribute to the 100th Cameron Mitchell Restaurant opening, was inspired by the intimacy and culinary creativity found in the finest restaurants in Italy. Cento is a warm, welcoming, and enchanting addition to German Village, offering artistic, intentional, and dynamic daily features. Guests enter through a canopy of greenery, into a setting reminiscent of a secret garden, complete with romantic string lights and a crackling fireplace.
Cento is where centuries-old recipes meet local specialties. Like the perfect martini—classic with a twist.
Challenges
With brand new challenges at hand, where do restauranteurs go for the next step?
Cameron Mitchell is a master of experiential dining with an authentic feel. With the goal of capturing an old-world atmosphere, he selected a charming historic building that had been in use since the 1904 when it served as a horse shoeing and blacksmithing business.
Renovations presented some unique challenges right from the start. Being an old, historic location, the building had layers of history within its walls and floors from previous tenants. Cameron Mitchell Restaurants’ (CMR) vision was to keep every piece of history they possibly could, including everything from the building’s original stone and original brick to the original dining room ceiling.
The type of fine-dining establishment they envisioned required excellent throughput and a layout with an intuitive front- and back-of-the-house flow to create a seamless experience for their guests.
Additionally, it was one of the smallest spaces in CMR’s family of restaurants. With less space and less tolerance for change, they needed to use every nook and cranny of that historical building to make it a world-class restaurant.
The Wasserstrom Difference
Is there a restaurant supplier that provides more than just the supplies?
The Cameron Mitchell Group had a clear vision for Cento, and required a full-service, one-stop shop to partner with through to their grand opening. They needed kitchen designers and service that will not only deliver, but install, troubleshoot, and resolve. Most of all, they needed people who could find quick solutions to unique problems.
This is where Wasserstrom comes in. We tailor a custom-made plan for all our customers based on their needs to provide a seamless experience, from order placement to installation field services. With our industry connections and expert players, we’ve got you covered.
The Solution
Wasserstrom seamlessly handles front-of-house visual aspirations with back-of-house planning & specs.
Wasserstrom helped the Cameron Mitchell Group achieve their vision with our experts in commercial smallwares and commercial kitchen design. Through our collaboration, we were able to tackle the challenges this historic location presented and build a world-class restaurant.
Wasserstrom has a strong and enduring partnership with the Cameron Mitchell Restaurants team, and provides smallwares for all of their new locations. Our smallwares specialist, Marcia, having worked on Cameron Mitchell Restaurants projects for 14 years, began the process of researching, then tracking down tableware patterns and décor that perfectly matched CMR’s vision, sourced samples, and handled the complex logistics that comes with navigating supply chains in the commercial smallwares industry around the world. Most importantly, Marcia was able to work closely with vendors to meet CMR’s specific preferences, due to her expertise in the field and the relationships Wasserstrom has built with hundreds of industry suppliers.
I recommend Wasserstrom all the time because they are best in class. We’re excited for the future and look forward to partnering with Wasserstrom for the next 30 years and the next 100 restaurants.”
Wayne Schick
Senior Vice President
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