Cleveland: Sora and Domo Sushi

Two Cleveland food stories are converging around Japanese cooking: chef Eric Hess is shaping Sora’s menu, and chef Carmen Paponetti is bringing Domo Sushi to Ohio City. (clevelandmagazine.com 1) (clevelandmagazine.com 2) Cleveland Magazine profiled Hess on March 11, 2026, describing the Concord native’s return to Northeast Ohio in 2024 after five years in North Carolina. The magazine said his cooking path moved from country clubs and resorts into more experimental small plates before he landed at Sora. (clevelandmagazine.com) Paponetti’s Domo Sushi is preparing to open at 3924 Lorain Avenue in Ohio City, next to Tripi Italian Specialties. Cleveland Magazine first reported in 2025 that the restaurant was targeting a late-summer or early-fall opening, and a first-look report published two weeks ago said the shop was nearing its debut. (clevelandmagazine.com 1) (clevelandmagazine.com 2) The two chefs arrive at this moment from different parts of Cleveland’s restaurant map. Sora is already operating with Hess in the city’s dining conversation, while Domo marks Paponetti’s return to a Japanese concept after his Van Aken Market Hall stand closed in January 2023. (clevelandmagazine.com 1) (clevelandmagazine.com 2) Paponetti’s new shop also reflects a menu adjustment based on his earlier run. Crain’s Cleveland Business reported in 2025 that Domo Ohio City would focus on sushi and drop yakitori after sales at the Van Aken location showed stronger demand for sushi. (crainscleveland.com) The Ohio City menu still carries over one of Paponetti’s signature dishes: Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki, a layered savory pancake cooked on a griddle. Cleveland Magazine said that dish, along with takoyaki, nigiri and rolls, links the new storefront to the original Domo concept he ran at Van Aken District. (clevelandmagazine.com) (clevelandmagazine.com) Hess’s profile was less about a new opening than about influence and sourcing. In the March 2026 feature, he pointed readers to Cleveland restaurants and markets that shape how he cooks, placing Sora inside a broader network of local producers and peer restaurants rather than as a stand-alone destination. (clevelandmagazine.com) Cleveland Magazine’s homepage now lists food coverage that ranges from neighborhood openings to Michelin Guide news for 2027, giving these two chef stories a wider backdrop. In that frame, Sora reads as an established kitchen refining its voice, and Domo reads as a chef reopening a concept with a more focused plan. (clevelandmagazine.com) (clevelandmagazine.com) For diners, the immediate change is concrete: one chef is already cooking at Sora, and another is about to add a sushi counter on Lorain Avenue. Both stories point to the same fact on the ground in 2026 — Cleveland’s Japanese restaurant scene is growing by both reinvention and return. (clevelandmagazine.com) (clevelandmagazine.com)