Ohio City Galley, Cleveland's latest restaurant concept, will double as a business incubator for four startup eateries in Ohio City at the corner of West 25th Street and Detroit Avenue.

Pittsburgh's Galley Group has announced that it will open Ohio City Galley — its third food hall-inspired restaurant accelerator and first outside the Iron City — this October in an 8,700-square-foot space in the former Forest City Savings and Trust Co. building.

"The restaurant industry is notoriously difficult to break into. It's capital intensive and the nuances can be difficult to navigate for entrepreneurs," said Galley Group co-founder Ben Mantica. "We want to provide a platform to let chefs launch their restaurant concept in a low-cost, low-risk environment to break into the market in a responsible way."

Galley Group opened its first location via Smallman Galley in 2015, followed by Federal Galley. After the Ohio City facility opens this fall, plans are to open another location in Detroit around the end of the year.

The restaurant's four chefs submitted applications to Galley Group to be considered. All those selected for the Ohio City operation are Cleveland natives either working here already or moving back for the business.

All four chefs have their own kitchens. Guests walk up to each one to place orders, pick up a card, then someone runs the food out to them.

Mantica estimates that building out the space for Ohio City Galley will cost "north of $2 million."

The parent company provides all front-of-house staff, like managers and bartenders. There will be a bar with an estimated 25 taps all featuring Ohio breweries, with an emphasis on local ones, and spirits procured from local distilleries as much as possible.

Mantica said they'll likely provide about 30 employees to the Ohio City space. It's estimated there'll be seating for 230. There's also a patio planned for the future.

Chefs are only responsible for kitchen labor and food costs. Instead of paying rent — which is considered a barrier to entering the restaurant business and is therefore something Mantica and his business partner Tyler Benson wanted to eliminate — each shares 30% of revenues with Galley Group.

"What we've seen over the last three years is they can open and operate for less than $7,500 on average," Mantica said. "This essentially gives them the opportunity to focus on the food, build out their brand and fine tune their concepts."

Each operator starts with a one-year agreement, Mantica said. Those eventually leaving will do so at staggered times. If someone is doing particularly well, but needs a few more months before heading out on their own, arrangements are typically worked out to extend their stay. There are no long-term leases. And most operators have been staying in their spaces for an average of 18 months.

"There's a real possibility that someone in the Ohio City Galley, 18 to 24 months later, will be operating their own restaurant in Cleveland," Mantica said.

The Galley Group concept was inspired by the success of tech incubators, Mantica said.

An overarching goal of the Galley Group is to address those barriers to entry for aspiring restaurateurs. That's why its founders focus on the Midwest instead of targeting markets on the coasts, which can be cost-prohibitive for many startups.

"We can fulfill the value market proposition in Cleveland and Detroit more than we could in Manhattan or San Francisco," Mantica said.

As far as coming to Cleveland, Mantica said he was drawn to cities "in the process of reinventing themselves."

"There are lots of similarities between Cleveland and Pittsburgh in the sense they're cities that used to be industrial but are turning to tech and education and other industries that are thriving in these markets," he said. "Those areas, and generally, those demographic shifts, are the same people interested in our concept."

Ohio City Galley will be right across the street from a five-floor building currently under construction by the Snavely Group that will feature 194 units of market-rate apartments.

"The Ohio City neighborhood is great, and it's in its own transition," he added. "There's a lot of things, a lot of development going on there. We are really excited to be there."

Here are the four restaurants that will occupy the space as described by Galley Group:

• Poca Casual Mexican: From chef Michael Nowak, a 20-year veteran of Cleveland's restaurant scene and the owner of The Black Pig, Poca Casual Mexican will feature fresh, thoughtfully sourced ingredients alongside the bright flavors of Mexico. All dishes from simple salsas, to braised meats and fresh corn tortillas will be prepared from scratch. Focusing on authentic preparations, Nowak will combine his love for Mexican food with the traditional flavors and preparations he has researched on his travels to Oaxaca to share with guests at Ohio City Galley.

• The Rice Shop: Cleveland-native Anthony Zappola will continue his successful return back home with his concept, The Rice Shop. Between his 10 years working under Tom Colicchio and recently opening his own delicatessen in Cleveland, Zappola is no stranger to bringing a thoughtfully curated concept to life. The Rice Shop will combine Southern American techniques alongside Asian ingredients creating a unique approach to the traditional rice bowl. The menu will have familiar flavors and ingredients seamlessly combined and backed with a chef-driven and creative approach.

• TINMAN: Brothers and Cleveland-natives, Michael Schoen and Tom Schoen will pay tribute to their city with TINMAN. Their first project together, the concept will be deeply rooted in nostalgia with dishes and flavors reminding them of their experiences growing up in Cleveland, particularly the memories in their mother's kitchen. The menu will be simple and clean, combining classic home cooked meals with Michael's culinary experiences abroad. After seven years leading notable kitchens in both Chicago and Cleveland, Michael is ready to dig in as chef and partner of TINMAN alongside his brother Tom, who will leverage his years of marketing and advertising at the front of house.

• Sauce the City: The final restaurant to open inside Ohio City Galley is Sauce the City from Victor Searcy Jr. Searcy established his entrepreneurial spirit at a young age, when as a sophomore in college he created his own transient vending company, Appling Food Products LLC. He then went on to produce a signature line of seasoning sauces, with his most popular, D'E'TE, found in stores across Cleveland and beyond. Sauce the City will offer a menu of steak and vegetarian burgers, sandwiches, seasonal salads and more, accompanied by a combination of signature seasoning sauces.