CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cory Hess was sitting in a bar, drinking a beer, looking out the window when an idea popped into his head. In between sips, he never imagined that it would end up this elaborate - or, frankly, that it would ever happen.

Well, today is the day it comes to life.

"I look around here, and I see three years and a lot of work - a whole lot," says the owner of Arcadian Food and Drink, smiling at his partner and wife, Rebecca Hess, as they survey the area. "But we're finally ready, right?"

Located at 6416 Detroit Ave. in Cleveland's Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood, Arcadian looks about as ready -- and stylish - as any bar-restaurant to open in the area in a long time.

The bar is stocked with a glowing array of Scotch, tequila, whiskey and rum. The beer and wine taps are ready to go. The tables are set. And the kitchen is all set up.

Then there's the look of Arcadian, which is the brainchild of Robert Maschke Architects and is really something else. The 4,000-square-foot space manages to mix mod decor and Frank Lloyd Wright design with the Googie style of some California coffee shop from the 1950s.

"There are a lot of spots that are comfortable, but there's not many sexy places in the area," says Cory Hess. "I wanted a place that could be both."

The previous inhabitant of this space was no doubt comfy. City Grill, you see, was an old-man bar par excellence - a joint where bikers, scruffy rockers and a 96-year-old regular of more than 50 years guzzled brews and chowed down on bar food. The City Grill closed around the beginning of the decade, and the space sat empty, waiting for a new inhabitant.

"I remember sitting in XYZ [Tavern] looking across the street and I was like, 'Man, that's the spot,'" says Cory Hess. "That was 2013 - and I thought I could move in and open up in six months."

The problem, he discovered, was that the place was in no condition to reopen as a full-on restaurant - especially one that occupies two floors.

"We saw one thing needed to be changed, then another and another, and suddenly all this time was going by," he says, as he walks up the stairs to the top level of Arcadian. "We had to totally gut the space, including the offices that used to be here."

The upstairs area seats 42 and will offer a fine-dining approach. The lower level will seat 60 and take a more casual approach - serving pizzas, fried chicken, cocktails and 12 area beers on tap. A patio, set to open in July, will accommodate 20.

"We want to provide different things, but interesting things in a friendly place," says Cory Hess, a former chef at Lola who has also worked at Lolita and Blue Point. "Where you can take a date to dinner upstairs or hang out with friends and have a beer and something to eat at the bar."

Executive chef Rebecca Hess was inspired to create a seafood-centric menu while, oddly enough, working in a steakhouse -- Urban Farmer, in the Westin.

"I found that seafood and specifically oysters were a top seller," says Rebecca Hess, who has made a raw bar central to the menu. "People think that Cleveland is more about meat and steak, but I've found that people really like seafood."

Which brings us to Detroit-Shoreway, home of the Happy Dog, XYZ, Spice, Toast, Luxe, Sweet Moses and other spots. The neighborhood will also see the opening of Brewnuts Donut Bar and Astoria Marketplace and Cafe in the coming months.

"This area is growing, and there's a lot happening here," says Cory Hess.

"But,'' interjects Rebecca, "there really isn't any place that serves seafood between downtown and Lakewood."

You could say the same about the Prosecco. Arcadian will serve it on tap, along with eight wines. It's part of a drink menu -- devised by Jeff Rowe, formerly of Hodge's - that includes 12 signature elixirs and loyal takes on staples.

"One of my favorite drinks is a Sazerac, and yet it can be hard to find one that's made right," says Rowe, who will be joined by Crop and ABC alum Erica Coffee behind the bar. Arcadian's general manager Dave Hridel - a vet of the bar scene going back to the Fulton Cafe -- agrees.

"You know, you can do fancy things," he says. "But in the end, people want a cool place where they can hang out and eat and have a drink."

That's what Cory Hess imagined when he looked across the street. Things got a bit more complex in the three years since, but finally the idea is a reality.

Hours are 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday. For more info, go to arcadiancle.com.