Cedar and Yuca are sister restaurants in NKY. And — just like humans who run them — they have some similarities.
Cedar Culinary Group is a family business that owns both restaurants. The LLC has three partners: Executive Chef Jeremy Faeth, and his parents, Michelle Faeth and Tony Faeth. Jeremy’s sister, Skyler, manages food. His brother, Alex, helps in the kitchen. Jeremy’s wife, Isabella Faeth, manages their social media platforms.
Jeremy Faeth attended Midwest Culinary Institute at Cincinnati State in 2010 for about four months. He left school early for a job that allowed him to travel the country and open new restaurants. He worked in corporate restaurants for 10 years and held many roles in kitchen management, acting general manager, regional culinary captain, bar manager, service manager, and regional training captain.
Jeremy Faeth was inspired by visits to Latin America, so both establishments have a Latin flair in their atmosphere and menu. Head chef Zach Schnug spent a great deal of time in Mexico, Costa Rica, and Guatemala, which further influenced the dishes.
Cedar Culinary Group’s mission is to “serve one-hour vacations to our guests.”
“The one-hour vacation is simply our identity. When we envision a guest experience. We hope that they feel as if they are on a vacation, even if it’s only for one hour,” Jeremy Faeth said. “Unplug, relax and have a cocktail. Everything we do at both restaurants has that philosophy in mind.”
Cedar’s grand opening was July 7, 2020. The Faeth family purchased the historic building in Main Strasse Village, which is now Cedar, in June 2019. Cedar’s menu theme is elevated comfort food made from scratch.
Cedar’s menu offers breakfast, brunch, lunch, and cocktails. Breakfast offerings include filet and eggs, chicken and waffles, and a West Indies omelet. Lunch options include burgers and tacos. Their adult beverage options include cocktails, wine, beer, and spiked coffee.
Yuca’s grand opening was on Sept. 14, 2021. Yuca by Cedar was built on the renovated first floor of the Historic Campbell County Bank building.
The restaurant focuses on Latin ingredients and flavors, and has a one-of-a-kind Tequila Vault.
Its menu offers breakfast, lunch, tapas, and alcoholic beverages. Yuca’s tapas include Yuca Poutine (fries with chorizo, egg, ghost pepper queso, and jalapeno) and Four Amigos (tortilla chips with red salsa, green salsa, guacamole, and ghost pepper queso).
Breakfast offerings include Venezuelan filet with eggs, Fat Zach (scrambled eggs, chorizo, chicken, crema, pineapple pico, potatoes, cilantro, and avocado corn gordita), and Yuca Toast (toast with guacamole, corn pico, garlic aioli, pistachios, and fresh fruit).
Their lunch options include the Cubano sandwich, Peruvian shrimp ceviche, and the Chilaquiles burger. Yuca’s adult beverage options include tequila, margaritas, cocktails, and spiked coffee.
The most popular dishes at both restaurants are The Hangover (breakfast potatoes, chorizo, avocado, eggs, crema, cilantro, jalapeno, and pico) and Fat Zach. The most popular alcoholic beverages at both restaurants are the Cedar Bloody Mary (house mix, Tito’s vodka, celery, and salted rim) and the Cedar Mosa (orange juice, Prosecco, and strawberry puree).
Cedar Culinary Group is planning to open a third restaurant on Pike Street in Covington near the end of this calendar year. The name will be Pike Street and it will serve elevated breakfast, lunch, and brunch food from scratch.
“The design of our menus is simple really. We want to use ingredients that we know best and are comfortable using. We aren’t working with anything crazy,” Jeremy Faeth said. “We just treat our ingredients the right way. They never go in a microwave or a freezer. Once we had our identity of how we wanted to treat our food it was really simple, lots of research and cooking.”
If you go
Cedar
701 Main Street, Covington
859-360-1187
https://www.cedarculinary.com
Hours: Tuesday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Friday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The restaurant is closed on Monday.
Yuca by Cedar
700 Fairfield Avenue, Bellevue
859-360-0110
https://www.yucabycedar.com
Hours: Tuesday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Friday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The restaurant is closed on Monday.