One of Cleveland Heights’ most beloved restaurants has returned after a pandemic departure. By Kate Bigam Kaput. When Nighttown closed its doors in 2020, days before Ohio even mandated shutdowns, it seemed like the end of more than five decades’ worth of history. Since 1965, the restaurant-slash-jazz-club had developed a reputation as a venue worthy of musical greats like Freddy Cole, Jimmy Scott and the Count Basie Orchestra. Famously, Stevie Wonder and Wynton Marsalis even dropped in for surprise performances.