TJ's Restaurant was founded by Tom Tieche and Jack Clampett in 1964. Tom's son Greg began working at the restaurant in 1976 and purchased it from his father in 1978. With the changing demographics in 2001, Greg began a remodeling project that would enable him to host not only the legendary TJ's Restaurant, but also a new restaurant where he would introduce the Wooster community to a unique concept and an unparalleled local dining experience. While searching for a name for the new restaurant, his father's nickname "Melvin", given to him by one of his best friends, kept coming to mind so Greg decided to name his new establishment Melvin's Brick Oven and Bakery. We visited with Greg recently and were introduced to the "brick oven" concept that gives the new restaurant its name;

I opened Melvin's Brick Oven and Bakery to accommodate the local casual dining niche. We've remodeled half of what had been TJ's into a more casual dining experience offering dinners priced in the $8.00 to $10.00 range. Half of our menu items are now done in our new woodburning brick oven which is also used for baking fresh bread every day. Our pizzas are baked in there as are numerous chicken dishes and steaks. Our fresh Atlantic Salmon, marinated and brick oven roasted, is now one of our most popular items.

All of the dough for both our breads and our pizzas is homemade. We have calzones, gourmet personal pan pizzas, homemade soups, salads, sandwiches, entrees, and an appetizer menu of over a dozen "munchies" that includes everything from Artichoke Spinach Flatbreat to Bruschetta to Crab Rangoon. We make our own desserts and our TJ's Brownie is the House Specialty. It's a chocolate brownie with a layer of mint and a scoop of mint chip ice cream over the top. We have a Tollhouse Pie loaded with chocolate chips and served warm with vanilla ice cream, cheesecakes, a Carrot Cake that's out of this world, and an ever-changing selection of featured desserts like the Black Forest Cake we're serving this month. Everything is made from the freshest and best ingredients I can find and we make everything right in our own kitchen. You won't find anyone in town serving anything like the food that we have here.

Melvin's Brick Oven and Bakery has a full liquor license. We sell wines by the glass, six different draft beers, and all kinds of beers from micro-breweries. We find that a large portion of our customers enjoy having a draft beer or a glass of wine with their pizzas and light dinners.

Our customers include everyone from college students to senior citizens and everyone seems to appreciated how quickly we serve them. We're located right downtown, close to all the downtown activities in addition to the new movie theater. When the weather is nice, we open our patio with seating for sixty and in the summertime, we feature live jazz music on Tuesday nights. Our dining room is non-smoking and can accommodate seventy. We only take reservation for groups of eight or more and since our tables turn quickly, we'll be able to seat you within 15-20 minutes even on a very busy night. We're locally owned and operated and take a lot of pride in providing the local community with excellent food and service at very affordable prices.

Whether you're looking for a quick appetizer and a glass of wine on the way to the theater or a one-of-a-kind dining experience, Melvin's Brick Oven and Bakery is sure to please. Stop by Melvin's Brick Oven and Bakery today and don't forget to tell them that The Advocate sent you!

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