Gradkowski, partners open gastro pub in Perrysburg

Mike Graber, a co-owner of Social, left, and executive chef Jeff Dinnebeil show off specialties of the Perrysburg restaurant.

Social, a gastro pub across the road from Levis Commons in Perrysburg, opened Tuesday with a steady flow of curious customers.

It’s a place to schmooze: Like the name says, it’s a social place. Indoors and out on the patio, friendly wait staffers were eager to please.

The restaurant occupies the building at 25818 Dixie Hwy. that formerly housed Arnie’s at Levis.

Versace-style prints, black-and-white photos, and televisions are on the walls, creating a homey denlike atmosphere. White linen napkins and tablecloths with a paper liner cover the large communal tables in the middle of the room, which are surrounded by a few booths and small tables set on shiny lacquer-covered concrete floors that are so reflective they look wet.

At one end is a three-sided bar, and at the other end is the large outdoor patio with its own three-sided bar.

Management says the menu will change every two months, but the first menu includes loaded deviled eggs, calamari, oxtail, warm spinach salad, fried bologna sandwich, stuffed roasted red bell pepper, Baja fish tacos, tenderloin, salmon, pulled pork sandwich, build your own mac and cheese, and more. It’s all served on white china. In addition, homemade soups and homemade desserts such as berry cobbler or strawberry pound cake are offered.

The children’s menu is a work in progress.

All of the meats, vegetables, and fruits are bought locally, said Mike Graber and Singh Grewal, two of the restaurant’s owners. Another owner is Bruce Gradkowski, the former University of Toledo quarterback who now plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The three men are partners in Gradkowski’s, a restaurant that opened in January in UT’s Gateway project at Dorr Street and Secor Road.

Social is open 11 a.m. to midnight seven days a week, and the kitchen is open the entire time.

Contact Barbara Hendel at: bhendel@theblade.com or 419-724-6124.