A James Beard Award-nominated chef is taking on stadium food. Delia's, a new fried chicken and JoJo concept from Chef Vinnie Cimino and proprietor Andrew Watts — the team behind Cleveland's acclaimed Cordelia and ROSY — opens on the Street Level concourse of Rocket Arena near Portal 26 in time for the Cleveland Cavaliers' first preseason home game of the 2026-27 season.
The Concept
The project is a deliberate exercise in translation: taking the craft and hospitality of a full-service East 4th Street restaurant and rebuilding it for the demands of a high-volume sports venue. Rather than expand a concessions menu, Cimino and Watts narrowed the focus to a handful of items executed at a high level — crispy fried and grilled chicken, Handys (sandwiches), JoJo fries, and a set of house-made sauces developed specifically for the concept. The physical space reinforces that neighborhood-joint identity, with white brick, hand-painted signage, and an illustrated portrait of Delia herself — the great-grandmother for whom Cordelia is named.
"Delia's is Cordelia made faster and more casual, but with the same heart," said Chef Vinnie Cimino. "We wanted to cook food that people can spot from across the concourse, get in their hands quickly and still feel like they're eating something made with real care."
What's on the Menu
The menu centers on Buckets — mix-and-match drumsticks or boneless thighs in two- and three-piece orders — served with pickles, hot sauce mayo, and JoJo fries. The Handy lineup includes a Fried Chicken sandwich with Cimino's signature Magic Dust, wavy pickles, coleslaw, and black garlic mayo; a miso-marinated Grilled Chicken sandwich; and the Midwest Polish Boy, a nod to a Cleveland street-food classic. Sides run to malt vinegar-rinsed JoJo fries, pimento potato salad, and coleslaw, rounded out by four Cordelia-inspired sauces: black garlic mayo, hot sauce mayo, Fancy Sauce, and Cleveland ketchup.
Why It Matters for Operators
The Delia's model is a useful case study for operators eyeing non-traditional venues. Rather than licensing a brand or offering a stripped-down version of the flagship menu, Cimino and Watts engineered a purpose-built concept that shares Cordelia's DNA without trying to replicate it. That approach — tight SKU count, high visual impact, speed of service — is increasingly how serious culinary talent is entering the sports and entertainment foodservice space, where transaction speed and volume have historically crowded out quality.
For Rock Entertainment Group, the partnership deepens a strategy of anchoring arena food and beverage to recognized local names rather than national chains. Chris Kaiser, Chief Marketing Officer for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Rock Entertainment Group, said the move "deepens our commitment to great Cleveland brands and enhances the best gameday experience in sports."
Cimino's profile adds weight to the concept. A three-time James Beard Award nominee and Food & Wine Best New Chef, his restaurant ROSY was recently named one of The New York Times' best restaurants in America — the kind of culinary credibility that's increasingly shaping how venues approach premium hospitality programming. Delia's is open during Cavaliers home games and select arena events.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
