Worth the wait. The Cascade, Prime Steak & Seafood aims for world-class dining and views

The first thing noticeable about downtown South Bend’s newest fine-dining restaurant is its modern and light interior finishes as well as its expansive windows overlooking the cascade on the St. Joseph River.

“The location and the space, for sure, are world class,” Matt Soutra, vice president of operations at Navarre Hospitality Group, says Tuesday prior to the first of two soft openings at the new restaurant appropriately named Cascade, Prime Steak & Seafood.

Located on the first floor of the Three Twenty at the Cascade luxury condominium tower across from Century Center, Kurt Janowsky, CEO of Navarre Hospitality, first announced plans to build out an upscale restaurant in the 8,000-square-foot space in August 2021.

But construction on the project was delayed until the start of this year because of needed repairs along the bank of the river and reconstruction of Seitz Park and the river walk following a multi-year project by the University of Notre Dame to produce hydroelectric power at the cascade.

“We didn’t want to open a fine-dining restaurant with views of construction equipment,” Janowsky says.

Though workers were still putting finishing touches on the park and even the new restaurant on Tuesday, Navarre Hospitality was ready to officially open the Cascade on Thursday evening.

The view of downtown and the river are spectacular, with floor-to-ceiling windows and slightly elevated seating toward the rear of the restaurant space to ensure that everyone has a view to go with their food and beverages.

Janowsky and Soutra had a hand in nearly every decision when it came to the new restaurant, opting for “light, airy and open” over the traditional dark wood found in most high-end steak and seafood restaurants, Soutra says.

“We wanted diners to feel like they’re part of the riverfront,” he says of the 225-seat restaurant that also includes a 75-seat patio overlooking the river.

And besides the luxurious space and the views, Navarre Hospitality also opted to serve only Prime-graded beef, which is reserved to less than 2% of the beef produced in the United States in addition to Japanese A5 Wagyu ― considered the highest grade of beef in the world.

“It’s very rare for a restaurant to only serve the highest grades of beef,” Janowsky says, adding that the Cascade also will put the same focus on offering the freshest seafood with shipments brought in six days a week.

Cascade also assembled an experienced front-of-house and kitchen management crew ― some of whom have worked at Michelin-star restaurants ― to ensure the food, drinks and overall experience match the high-end ingredients, decor and views.

There also is an in-house sommelier available to help patrons with wine pairings.

Customers walking in the main entrance at 320 E. Colfax Ave. pass by a glass-enclosed room with 1,200 bottles of wine.

And then they’re hit by the flames, crackle and the smell of beef cooking on a wood-fired grill powered by oak, hickory and cherry. “It’s primordial,” Janowsky says about the aromas drifting from the grill.

Though Navarre Hospitality now employs more than 500 at its area restuarants, the locally-based business hired about 75 new employees for the Cascade ― all of whom went through about 15 days of training prior to opening.

“We want to ensure world-class hospitality to go along with everything else,” Janowsky says.

The new restaurant also is equipped with the ability to provide private dining for parties ranging from eight to 60 people, Janowsky says.

And despite its focus on combining the highest quality ingredients, service and ambience ― among other things ― Janowsky hopes the Cascade becomes a venue that residents and visitors can enjoy on a more regular basis ― perhaps stopping in for cocktails and small plates to enjoy the view.

Similar to any fine-dining restaurant, it will be relatively easy to spend $50 or more per person at the Cascade. Conversely, it's also possible to spend about $20 on a drink with appetizer.

Hours are 4 to 10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 4 to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 4 to 9 p.m. Sundays. Expect Sunday brunch to be added in the coming months.

The Cascade is the latest gem to be added to downtown South Bend’s fine-dining scene with restaurants such as LaSalle Grill, Roselily, Cafe Navarre, Woochi Japanese Fusion and others already making downtown a destination for area foodies.

It’s success is important to Janowsky because the site is where he got his start decades ago working in the kitchen of Captain Alexander’s Moonraker, later renamed the Wharf.

“Opening a new restaurant is always intense,” he says. “But opening one that’s this big and in this location added pressure to get it right.”

Have you heard?

The opening of South Bend Public House at the Indiana Dinosaur Museum is now tentatively slated to open on Aug. 30. It's been delayed for several weeks so that the new restaurant can obtain a liquor permit. The new spot will have a menu similar to the Mishawaka and Howard Park Public House restaurants but will include a stage for live music and considerable outdoor seating.

Email Tribune Market Basket columnist Ed Semmler at esemmler@sbtinfo.com with tips about retail and restaurant openings and closings.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Downtown South Bend gains another fine-dining gem with the Cascade