By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
One downtown restaurant is planning to emerge from the pandemic with a new name and a renewed conviction to provide the quality, European cuisine chef Boby Mitov has been serving up for 14 years.
Naslada Bistro is now the Clay Pot Bistro, still at 182 S. Main St., Bowling Green.
“It really just started with the cleaning,” said Mariana Mitova, co-owner and the chef’s wife. When the coronavirus pandemic shut down the bistro’s dine in business, they took the opportunity to strip down the decor and do a deep cleaning. With the décor down, they decided to give the place a new coat of paint.
Knowing the state would impose physical distancing restrictions when they did reopen, they rearranged the interior to make more space.
“Once we started doing that. We started brainstorming, and thought maybe now is a good time to rebrand,” Mitova said. “For years we struggled with the name we had. People had a hard time pronouncing it, remembering it, spelling it.”
“Too exotic,” her husband added.
And some prospective customers assumed that the food also was too unusual.
With the advice of friends, they came up with The Clay Pot Bistro , and then the tag line “Good Food … Together.”
Mitova said while the name changed and the interior updated, “we wanted to keep the things that made us good. That’s the food. The focus on the European food is not going to change. It’s Boby’s style of cooking anyways, that cannot be changed.”
She continued: “During this time of shutdown, we honestly have a lot of time to reflect on what we do well and what needs to change. We’ve always been a place for clean food, nutrition rich food that’s really good for your body. He always scans all ingredients to make sure the most harmful ingredients are not on the list.”
For Mitov, “good food” means food prepared with the best ingredients, organic when possible, that’s best both for taste and health.
“Food can be medicine, or it can be poison,” he said.
That approach dates back to his upbringing in Bulgaria. He started learning his craft at 14. He trained in family restaurants and resorts. These were restaurants where everything, including the wine came from nearby. He continued his training in the army.
He said when the Berlin Wall came down and Communism collapsed, it opened the country up to more commercial fast food where the emphasis was on making money, not making good food.
In 1999, he and Mitova moved to Bowling Green where his cousin lived. The idea, he said, was to stay for a few months, get established and get Social Security cards and then move onto a bigger city where there would be more opportunity.
“We never moved, which is great,” Mitova said.
With a degree in finance from Bulgaria, she wanted to return to school so she studied Apparel Merchandising and Product Development Program, and went on to earn her Master of Business Administration and a doctorate in leadership studies, all at Bowling Green State University. Now she’s a teaching professor at BGSU and coordinates the Apparel Merchandising and Product Development Program.
Mitov worked for a bit at Pisanello’s before opening Naslada by Boby at the Woodland Mall in 2003. At the time, they needed to focus on keeping the price of items down, because that’s what customers demanded, Mitova said. “We were trying to get ourselves established during the first years here.”
In 2006, they opened the bistro in downtown.
That year, Mitov also had a health crisis. He ended up with a fistful of pills to take every day. The doctor couldn’t tell him what was wrong.
Since coming to this country, they’d been eating the food here, as much out of curiosity, Mitova said. Frozen food, processed food, fast food. They found themselves putting on weight and adding health problems, like high blood pressure.
Mitov started doing research and decided his and the family’s diet was the problem.
So, he traded his fistful of pills for servings of more nutritious food.
“It was a wakeup call,” his wife said.
“You need nutrition for your body,” Mitov said. “In this pandemic the only protection is your immune system.”
The clay pot, slow cooking in natural material, epitomizes that.
Mitova said when she brings food to others she cooks it in a clay pot, and people always appreciate it.
The Clay Pot’s menu includes grass-fed beef and vegetables cooked in a clay pot.
The menu ranges from a rustic plate with a selection of cured meats, cheese and an artisanal sourdough bread baked in house, to salads offering a mix of greens and fruits. Lamb, bison and veggie burgers are served, as well as seafood including sea bass, salmon, and shrimp, each in a distinctive savory sauce. There are vegetarian and vegan options. This can be finished with a selection of cocktails or a simple dessert.
The pandemic hit dine-in restaurants hard, Mitov said, and his was no exception. In April take out business was helping, now though with new restrictions in place it has regressed.
“It’s like a ghost town,” Mitov said.
“We’re weathering the storm,” Mitova said.
In collaboration with other downtown businesses, the Clay Pot is working to develop the space behind Eden Fashion Boutique at the end of the alley that runs from South Main to the city parking lot.
Kati and Dave Thompson, of Eden, have worked clearing out the space, removing weeds, moving a dumpster, removing one tree and an old fence.
Kelly Wicks, of Grounds for Thought, also led an effort to buy new picnic tables.
For the Clay Pot, it means people who are still not ready to dine in, can eat outside.
Mitov said the response has been tepid. One issue is that people like to have wine or a drink with their meal, but he cannot serve them outside.
He’s counting on the new Downtown Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA) helping with that.
Now dubbed The Greenery, the space still needs a lot of care, said Mitova.
They envision a place for small community gatherings, including music and activities for children.
Mitov said it could use “lighting to make people feel comfortable.”
“We want to bring in plants,” Mitova said. “We want to grow grass. We want it make a place for friendship, laughter, food and fun.”
