{"id":18,"featured":0,"modified":"2026-03-04 21:31:57","latitude":41.52072410819999959130655042827129364013671875,"longitude":-81.65169954300000654257019050419330596923828125,"title":"Frank Sterle&#039;s Slovenian Country House","subtitle":"Authentic Slovenian Food and Entertainment","fullsize":"https://www.clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/sterle2_3d32bc5ce8.jpg","address":"1401 E 55th St, Cleveland, OH ","zoom":15,"creator":["Amanda Ahrens","Brian Berger","Andrew Glasier","Silvia Sheppard"],"description":"Frank Sterle, an immigrant from Ljubljana, Slovenia, founded his Slovenian Country House in 1954. With a small building on East 55th Street, a few picnic tables, and only one waitress - who had to memorize the small menu since none had been printed - Sterle managed to create a successful and lasting business. As the restaurant became well-known throughout Cleveland for its world-class polka performances, Sterle decided to add onto the building until it looked much like the alpine mountain lodge that Sterle lived in when he was a young child. The building had a pitched tongue and groove ceiling. A deer head hung over the entrance, and its walls were adorned with murals of Slovenia, giving the restaurant an atmosphere that was distinct in Cleveland.<br />\r\n<br />\r\nAfter Frank&#039;s death in 1986, the restaurant was taken over by Mike Longo and Margot Glinski; immigrants from Italy and Germany, respectively. Despite the change in ownership, the restaurant continued to serve traditional Slovenian dishes and had weekly polka performances and dancing. Favorite menu items included wiener schnitzel, chicken paprikash, stuffed cabbage, klobase and sauerkraut. Among the notable artists who performed at Sterle&#039;s were Joey Miskulin, Johnnie Vadnal, “Waltz King” Lou Trebar, and &quot;King of Polka&quot; Frankie Yankovic. <br />\r\n<br />\r\nIn 2012, Rick Semersky bought the building and promised that he would use Sterle’s Country House “as a catalyst to revive the neighborhood.” Semersky kept using the building as a restaurant until he could no longer keep up with changing times and was failing to fill the large restaurant nightly. In 2016, Semersky opened Goldhorn Brewery next to Sterle’s Country House. The following year, he stopped serving lunch and dinner and converted the restaurant into a special events center. Although Goldhorn Brewery stayed open and was profitable, Sterle’s Country House closed for good in 2020. On November 22, 2022, a fire broke out in the vacant building, leading to the collapse of large sections of its roof and walls. The remainder of the building was demolished the following spring.","sponsor":null,"accessinfo":"Demolished","lede":null,"website":null,"related_resources":["DeMarco, Laura. “Iconic Sterle’s Country House for Sale at Sheriff's Auction.” <em>Plain Dealer</em>. March 18, 2020.","Reece, Cynthia. “Great Flood at Low Prices: Frank Sterle’s Slovenian Country House.” <em>Plain Dealer.</em> March 12, 1976."],"factoids":[],"files":{"https://www.clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/sterle2_3d32bc5ce8.jpg":{"id":965,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Exterior, 2008","description":"Mark Souther | 2008","thumbnail":"https://www.clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/sterle2_3d32bc5ce8.jpg"},"https://www.clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/a8351cf2a45ff2fb6d32e18e955ea278.jpg":{"id":2211,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Entrance","description":"This arched sign hangs over the entrance to the Sterle&#039;s parking lot.<br />\r\n<br />\r\n","thumbnail":"https://www.clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/a8351cf2a45ff2fb6d32e18e955ea278.jpg"},"https://www.clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/slovene1_ae16f43ad7.jpg":{"id":153,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Frank Sterle and Alojzija Sterle","description":"Frank Sterle with his mother, Alojzija Sterle, who was visiting Cleveland from her native Slovenia in 1978. | Cleveland State Library Special Collections | 1978","thumbnail":"https://www.clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/slovene1_ae16f43ad7.jpg"},"https://www.clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/slovene2_3e86597ca1.jpg":{"id":156,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Slovenian Performers, 1927","description":"Slovenian Performers Donna Oblak and Louis Frehek in 1927.  | Cleveland State Library Special Collections | 1927","thumbnail":"https://www.clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/slovene2_3e86597ca1.jpg"},"https://www.clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/b1129dca87097a134a2ed0fce4b3702e.jpg":{"id":2210,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Stained Glass","description":"A stained glass window featuring a woman in traditional Slovenian garb is built into one of the walls at Sterle&#039;s Slovenian Country House. ","thumbnail":"https://www.clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/b1129dca87097a134a2ed0fce4b3702e.jpg"},"https://www.clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/afc348855b42dcc79fe6a946b6d8053d.jpg":{"id":11055,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Inside the Sterle’s Slovenian Country House","description":"The inside of Sterle’s Country House had murals depicting Eastern European scenes.  | Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland State University’s Michael Swartz Library Special Collections | May 8, 1979 | Tom Tomsic","thumbnail":"https://www.clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/afc348855b42dcc79fe6a946b6d8053d.jpg"},"https://www.clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/slovene5_53160175d8.jpg":{"id":159,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Lou Trebar and Slovenian Dancers, 1951","description":"Accordionist and Cleveland native Lou Trebar was one of the best-known performers of Cleveland-style polka.  His polka adaptations of classical music during the 1930s earned him the title of &quot;Waltz King.&quot; | Cleveland State Library Special Collections | 1951","thumbnail":"https://www.clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/slovene5_53160175d8.jpg"},"https://www.clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/ethnicx2_fa2e4b8b6e.jpg":{"id":160,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Corpus Christi Procession, 1928","description":"Founded in 1901, St. Lawrence Roman Catholic Church on East 82nd Street met the religious, social, and educational needs of the Slovenian community in the area.  In this 1928 photograph, Father John Oman, head priest for 48 years at St. Lawrence, leads the congregation in the annual Corpus Christi procession. The celebration had both religious and cultural significance for the Slovenian Catholic community. | Cleveland State Library Special Collections | 1928","thumbnail":"https://www.clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/ethnicx2_fa2e4b8b6e.jpg"},"https://www.clevelandhistorical.org/files/original/400005bsr-ethnicity-cleveland-melting-pot_mixdown_55b6ea1849.mp3":{"id":161,"mime-type":"audio/mpeg","title":"Cleveland&#039;s Melting Pot","description":"Margot Glinsky of Frank Sterle&#039;s Slovenian Country House talks about Cleveland as a cultural melting pot  | Cleveland Regional Oral History Collection"},"https://www.clevelandhistorical.org/files/original/400005bsr-ethnicity-polka-music-and-eastern-europe_mixdown_e8f27e10bb.mp3":{"id":162,"mime-type":"audio/mpeg","title":"Polka At Frank Sterle&#039;s","description":"Margot Glinsky talks about ethnic music at Frank Sterle&#039;s | Cleveland Regional Oral History Collection"},"https://www.clevelandhistorical.org/files/original/400015-ethnicity-cleveland-polka_mixdown_39ec30aaa3.mp3":{"id":163,"mime-type":"audio/mpeg","title":"Cleveland-Style Polka","description":"Joe Valencic of the Cleveland Polka Hall of Fame talks about Cleveland style polka and it&#039;s Slovenian origins | Cleveland Regional Oral History Collection"}}}