Looking for a new place to dine? Here are some Summit County restaurants that opened in 2022
It was an exciting year as far as restaurant openings go. From a dog-friendly drive-in in Cuyahoga Falls to Green’s sunny new breakfast spot, there are quite a few new noteworthy eateries in Summit County that opened in 2022.
The big news this year was the opening a much-anticipated American restaurant in downtown Akron, as well as the addition of three Mexican restaurants in Stow. Portage Lakes also saw its historic Harbor Inn become a lake-side restaurant promising high quality barbecue, beer and bourbon. Eateries also sprung up in Tallmadge, serving everything from pizza to jalapeño burgers to coffee rubbed rib-eye steak.
While this is not an exhaustive list, it should give you a taste of the new restaurants Summit County has to offer. Read on to learn more.
Farewell:Here are the Summit County restaurants that closed in 2022
Crave, Akron
After a healthy dose of anticipation from local foodies, Crave opened within its new home in downtown Akron’s Landmark Building. The two-story space formerly housed the Akron Savings and Loan and has the ornately plastered, restored ceiling tiles to prove it.
Couple and co-owners Dana and Aaron Hervey have been in the restaurant business for 21 years. The great location was a big factor for Aaron, who cited the 500,000 guests that the Akron Civic Theatre and Lock 3 draw downtown annually as well as a total of about 200 apartment dwellers in the building above the restaurant and across Main Street at The 159.
Jimmy Pintello is executive chef at the new Crave, which features "turbo-refined" appetizers such as crab cakes with arugula vinaigrette, pickled watermelon rind and jicama salad, mustard seed and radish. New entrees include a duck dish with breast and leg of duck confit with macadamia nut rice, foie gras mousse, goat cheese, balsamic strawberries, pomegranate molasses and smoked honeycomb.
156 S. Main St., Akron; 330-253-1234; eatdrinkcrave.com
Doodle Drive-in, Cuyahoga Falls
It’s official, Cuyahoga Falls has gone to the dogs (in a good way).
One of the city’s new restaurants, Doodle Drive-in, serves both two- and four-legged customers in the building that previously housed Retro Dog, a gourmet hot dog shop that closed in 2020.
Humans can choose from drive-in staples such as hamburgers and beef hotdogs along with some interesting additions like a seven-layer garden pita, the LGBT sandwich (BLT with guacamole) and death by chocolate milkshake. Pooches also have their own menu featuring catchy creations like the Borzoi bowl, which is made of carrots, celery, romaine lettuce, tomato and an over-hard egg.
Goodbye hot dogs, hello doodles:Doodle Drive-in replaces Retro Dog, offers dog-friendly patio and dining in Cuyahoga Falls
Customers may order and eat their meals in the restaurant’s main building, in their car or at the on-leash dog patio. The fenced-in courtyard has 30 picnic tables for patrons and their furry friends.
350 E. Steels Corners Road, Cuyahoga Falls; 234-334-4236; doodledrivein.com
West Avenue Tavern, Tallmadge
Owner Renee Crighton was the bartender of the building’s previous occupant, Delanie's Gastro Bar. The switch in ownership caused changes for both the business’s name and its menu, which now features dishes like coffee rubbed rib-eye steak and Nashville hot chicken sandwiches. Also on West Avenue Tavern’s menu are wraps, house-made fry dipping sauces and the option to send a round of cold brews to the kitchen for $8.
67 West Ave., Tallmadge; 330-630-2888; westavetavern.com/home
Sunrise Social, Green
This restaurant has been serving all kinds of tasty breakfast creations since it opened in May. The menu makes it clear that the business’s co-owners are breakfast people, with cornflake encrusted chicken and waffles and a good selection of pastries and cocktails.
The masterminds behind the restaurant’s more unique dishes are chef Gage Hedges and co-owner Lisa Houck, who between them added chicken-and-quinoa-stuffed poblano, ultimate corned beef sandwich and cinnamon toast French toast to its menu.
More on Sunrise Social:Local Flavor: Sunrise Social serves innovative, traditional breakfast in Green
Sunrise Social’s sunny disposition combines with hanging green vines and splashes of teal to become a sort of secret garden — but with some truly delicious breakfast and pastries thrown in.
3875 Massillon Road, Suite 20, Uniontown; 234-492-0202; facebook.com/SunriseSocialCafe
Casa Nueva, Stow
One of Stow’s three new Mexican restaurants, Casa Nueva offers patrons the classic enchiladas and burritos alongside inventive dishes like Hawaiian fajitas. One eye-catching entrée is the melting burrito, which is filled with chorizo, pinto beans and the customer’s choice of chicken or steak before being deep fried and topped with queso blanco, salsa verde and pico de gallo. The meal comes with either Mexican rice or cilantro-lime rice. The restaurant opened June 8.
4525 Kent Road, Stow; 330-968-3535; facebook.com/casanuevatacos
Smoke on the Water, Akron
Smoke on the Water has the perfect atmosphere to match its focus on barbecue, bourbon and beer. Throughout the restaurant are barrels functioning as flowerpots, tables and even the hostess stand. It has a range of seating options and a lake-side patio overlooking the northernmost part of the West Reservoir and the rainbow of houses that boarder it.
Lakeside dining experienceSmoke on the Water offers lakeside barbecue on Portage Lakes
The property has an extensive history within Coventry Township, with many people crediting the popularity of the Portage Lakes area to its existence. It was originally built in the 1870s as Mellinger’s Inn and was known as The Olde Harbor Inn or some variant until Donnie Boyer II, the owner of neighboring restaurant Pick’s At PLX, opened Smoke on the Water in July.
Its most popular dishes are the pulled pork, brisket sandwich and smoked turkey.
But what about the ribs? A barbecue restaurant is hardly worth its salt without good ribs.
According to Smoke on the Water’s pit master, Justin Fowler, the restaurant’s ribs are boiled for an hour and then seasoned in molasses, maple syrup and pork rub before undergoing a two-hour stint in the smoker. Additional molasses and spritz of apple cider vinegar are routinely applied to the ribs while they are smoking.
562 Portage Lakes Drive, Akron; 234-571-0031; smokeonthewaterplx.com
Umami Noodle, Cuyahoga Falls
On Howe Avenue, squeezed between Panera Bread and Play It Again Sports is Umami Noodle, a Japanese restaurant serving delightful dishes from ramen and boba tea to fried chicken. Their menu also features dishes that customers may not be as familiar with, like yakitori (skewered meat) and doburi (a rice-bowl dish). The restaurant opened in May.
677 Howe Ave., Cuyahoga Falls; 330-849-5022; umami-noodle.com
Paisan's Pizzeria, Tallmadge
Mama Mia! It’s Paisan’s Pizzeria!
The authentic pizza restaurant off of Tallmadge’s historic circle opened in early March. Since it opened, the menu's most popular items have been the Pepperoni Trio pizza, Paisan's Potato Puffs and wings with a side of "Sparks Sauce."
The aroma of spices that hits customers entering the shop are from its pizza sauce, a top-secret recipe passed down from former co-owner Brian Cappabianca’s grandmother in Naples, Italy.
Family tradition:New Tallmadge pizza shop, Paisan's Pizzeria, brings centuries-old recipe from Italy
Cappabianca and his cousin Chris Sparks opened Paisan’s Pizzeria to become their own bosses and because they had experience in the business after working at Papa John's together while attending The University of Akron in the early 2000s.
18 Tallmadge Circle, Tallmadge; 330-794-5142; paisans-pizzeria.com
Amigos Taqueria, Stow
Owners Gustavo Munoz and Alejandro Enriquez have brought authentic Mexican cuisine to the north corner of the Bridgewater Park retail development in Stow. Amigos Taqueria opened on May 12 and focuses on the authentic dishes of their hometowns. That includes recipes perfected by Munoz's parents, who owned a taqueria in Aguas Calientes, Mexico, for many years.
The two met at Munoz’s previous restaurant, El Tren Grill in Tallmadge, where Enriquez was a promising new cook. They became good friends and bonded over their love for Mexican culture and the homemade food of their homeland.
More about Amigos Taqueria:Amigos Taqueria goes for Mexican authenticity in Stow
Both Munoz and Enriquez put freshness at a premium, including guacamole made fresh tableside and handmade corn tortillas for entrees such as street tacos and the traditional huarache at the Stow eatery.
The Amigos Taqueria menu includes bowls, quesadillas, tacos, burritos, fajitas, sopas (soups), tortas (sandwiches) and more. One of the restaurant’s main features is that patrons can build their own customized entrée. That includes starting with a taco, huarache, quesadilla, bowl, sope (handmade, thick corn tortilla), torta or machete (long corn tortilla).
4147 Bridgewater Parkway, Stow; 330-805-4715; amigostaqueriaohio.com
Big Dzz House BBQ, Tallmadge
For nearly a decade, A'Delbert Cobbin has been providing the Akron area with his homemade barbecue and southern cuisine from a food truck. As of April 25, Big Dzz has secured that home in Tallmadge.
Barbecue comes to Tallmadge:Focus on Black-owned Businesses: Big Dzz House BBQ finds home in Tallmadge
Some of the more popular items on the Big Dzz menu are The Big D Burger, the pulled pork sandwich and the chicken and waffles sandwich. Cobbin said he tries to introduce new items to the menu and offers specials every day to add variety.
Cobbin’s favorite menu item are the ribs, which he smokes himself and lathers in his homemade barbecue sauce. In the future, Cobbin hopes to make Big Dzz a sit-down restaurant and bottle his homemade Big Dzz sauce.
284 West Ave., Tallmadge; 330-942-0229; facebook.com/profile.php?id=100068670608530
Spicy Sombrero’s, Stow
Once again Stow said hola to another Mexican restaurant, this one located at the intersection of Darrow and Fishcreek Roads. Spicy Sombrero’s serves fare like fajita taco salads and gringa fries - French fries topped with grilled jalapeños, chorizo, bacon, beans and melted cheese. Quesadillas, fajitas, enchiladas, burritos and other dishes are also on the menu.
Catch them if you can:Best food trucks in Summit County
4976 Darrow Road, Stow; 234-380-1024; spicysombreros.com
Lake Life Deli & Dogs, New Franklin
This nautical themed restaurant entered the dining scene at the last minute with its grand opening on Dec. 6. Lake Life Deli & Dogs offers loaded hot dogs, hearty salads, and fun creations like buffalo chicken logs (buffalo-style chicken wrapped, deep fried and served alongside Frank's RedHot Buffalo 'N Ranch Hot Sauce).
The place may seem like it’s all fun and games, but these people are serious about getting their bread (no, not the monetary kind). Leeches meats and sweets in Barberton is the restaurant's sole provider for buns and Akron’s Ideal Bakery supplies its sliced bread for sandwiches.
5187 Manchester Road, New Franklin; 330-400-4087; lakelifedeli.com
Khaao Macha Indian Café, Copley
This new Indian restaurant serves up vegetarian and meat dishes like paneer burji and chicken tikka masala alongside naan and a variety of rice. When it opened on Jan. 21, the restaurant’s kitchen operated out of a converted school bus, but served guests in a nearby dining room and patio. Now the eatery is transitioning into the Radisson Hotel on Restaurant Hill in Copley, where the business will be renamed Khaao Macha Indian Fusion Retro Bar.
330-576-3096; khaaomacha.com
Contact Beacon Journal reporter Tawney Beans at tbeans@gannett.com and on Twitter @TawneyBeans.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Here are the Summit County restaurants that opened in 2022
