After about half a dozen years of planning, Doreen Lyon is about ready to live her dream.
Dare we say tap her dream?
She and business partner Christine Mack are going to be tapping a lot of beer at their new Craft Beer Bar in Cuyahoga Falls, which is set to open early next month on the ground floor of the Watermark Building on Front Street.
“We’re two girls that got tired of the corporate life,” Lyon said.
The plan is to serve a wide array of craft beer, as well as “elevated bar food,” including the Craft American Burger featuring bacon jam, and salads and seasonal soups. Ohio brews will be well represented, including beers from Hoppin’ Frog Brewery and Thirsty Dog Brewing Co. of Akron.
The roughly 2,000-square-foot restaurant will seat nearly 70 patrons and the outside patio will have room for 40.
Lyon’s last corporate gig was working in logistics for a Cleveland-area company. Most recently she was getting some experience working as a server and bartender in the tasting room at Hoppin’ Frog, across U.S. Route 224 from the Akron Airdock.
The Watermark on Front Street, owned by Testa Cos. in the Falls, houses one of the two Office Bistro locations, as well as apartments and condominiums. Watch this space for more on Craft Beer Bar.
DiLullo stirs up sauce
Spaghetti sauce lovers rejoice.
Domenic DiLullo is now serving his family’s sauce, made locally famous at the former DiLullo’s restaurant in Cuyahoga Falls, at his Domenic’s Pub at 2467 State Road. The pub is near the former site of DiLullo’s.
DiLullo doesn’t want to give too much away in explaining the sauce’s draw, though he says it’s not a marinara, which is essentially made with tomatoes, garlic and onions. This sauce, which boasts a hearty flavor, includes beef, veal and pork stock, DiLullo says.
DiLullo closed the nearby family-owned DiLullo’s in 2009, which had been in business for six decades. Domenic DiLullo said at the time that with two young children he didn’t have the time to devote to the restaurant, which served old-school, red-sauced Italian dishes. He kept Domenic’s Pub open.
DiLullo was missing the sauce, made a big batch for his family and thought, “I’ll just make it for the pub.”
He said he couldn’t “ignore the fact that people have been asking for the sauce.”
He serves it over a large homemade meatball. “It’s a classic sauce,” he said, then editing himself as he has a tendency to do: “That word [classic] is so overused, but it’s a classic sauce.”
He stresses that he’s not doing “a full-blown [DiLullo’s] menu,” though the pub boasts an array of eats, including personal-size pizzas and sandwiches. The pub also is offering Mussels Mario (DiLullo’s middle name), which was served at DiLullo’s.
Call 330-923-9530 or see http://domenicspub.com.
Krispy Kreme goodness
Last week, Krispy Kreme revealed that it would celebrate National Doughnut Day this Friday with free doughnuts at nearly any Krispy Kreme location in the country.
Now comes word from the Salvation Army of Summit County that it is teaming up with the Krispy Kreme at 354 Maple St. in West Akron to give away doughnuts in downtown Akron from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. Friday.
The Salvation Army’s Jeanette Brown and volunteers will offer free doughnuts from the canteen truck that will be parked at Main and Bowery Streets. Approach the truck from the sidewalk side. Free coffee also will be available.
The Krispy Kreme-Salvation Army team-up makes sense. National Doughnut Day was created in 1938 by the Salvation Army to raise money for people in need during the Great Depression.
“There’s a big heritage also with the doughnut girls,” Brown said, referring to the Salvation Army workers who served coffee and doughnuts to soldiers in the trenches in the battlefields of France during World War I.
Brown said the idea behind Friday’s event is to celebrate that heritage and show “We’re here. We care.”
The Krispy Kreme location at Maple Street opened in the mid-1950s, replacing one elsewhere on Maple Street that opened in 1939. That store was one of the first Krispy Kremes outside Winston-Salem, N.C., where the company started in 1937.
Hudson Farmers Market
The Hudson Farmers Market opens Saturday for its eighth season. This year, the market will run for an extra two weeks, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturdays through Oct. 11 on the Village Green in downtown Hudson. The market also will boast more entertainment, cooking demonstrations and other activities, organizers say.
For more information and a schedule of events, visit www.hudsonfarmersmarket.org or go to the market’s Facebook page.
Hey, Wise Guys
Tom Procaccio, owner of the new Wise Guys Bar & Grill, reports that he finally has a phone number. It is 330-922-3006.
The bar/restaurant opened this month in the former North Hill icon Nick Anthe Restaurant at 1008 N. Main St. in Akron.
Kitchen hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Wining at Ken Stewart’s
Ken Stewart’s Grille in West Akron will offer another five-course wine/meal event on June 12. This time, wines from Duckhorn Wine Co. will be featured.
Courses include seared scallop, shaved jicama and cilantro slaw, Granny Smith apple puree and pork croquette, along with baby frisee (curly endive) and spicy yellow pepper puree.
Festivities begin at 6:30 p.m. The cost is $75 plus tax and gratuity. For information and reservations, call Terry Kemp, event director, at 330-697-6917 or the restaurant at 330-867-2555. Ken Stewart’s is at 1970 W. Market St.
Restaurant Roundup
The NOTO women’s apparel boutique is joining forces with the nonprofit Downtown Akron Partnership for the sixth annual Summer Fashion Show Saturday, in the old trolley barn behind the Austen BioInnovation Institute at 47 N. Main St., near Perkins Street in downtown Akron.
For the first time, the evening will feature a Restaurant Roundup from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Restaurants that will offer eats, with prices ranging from $3 to $5, will be 3 Point, Crave, Nuevo Modern Mexican & Tequila Bar and Urban Eats.
Admission is free, but VIP tickets are available for $30 and include seated fashion show admission and two drink tickets. Purchase tickets at www.notoboutique.com or in-store at 76 S. Main St.
Members of the Akron Symphony Orchestra will perform and Bo Bishop will spin vinyl. The fashion show starts at 8 p.m. and all styles will be available for purchase after the show.
That same night, the monthly Downtown Akron Artwalk will run from 5-10 p.m. A map of Artwalk locations and galleries is at www.downtownakron.com/artwalk.
NYC chef speaks
New York City chef Dan Barber, winner of multiple James Beard awards (the Oscars of food) will speak about his new book, The Third Plate, with Cleveland native and food author Michael Ruhlman on Tuesday evening at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Cleveland at 11400 Euclid Ave.
Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door, free for MOCA members. Book signing begins at 6 p.m. The discussion begins at 7 p.m. For information, go to www.mocacleveland.org or call 216-421-8671.
Send local food news to Katie Byard at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com.