To NOSH means to “eat enthusiastically”! NOSH Around Ravenna, Presented by Portage Community Bank and sponsored by John Davison State Farm Insurance, Gary Miller, Financial Advisor for Edward Jones and Trexler Rubber, came about as a way to showcase our downtown restaurants this winter as we continue to move through the restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. A take off of “Restaurant Week”, NOSH combines the need for good food with the need to get out of the house even for a short period of “safely distanced’ time and space. With the NOSH Card, you can visit each restaurant in downtown Ravenna and get reacquainted, with not only the food but also with the community who has been restricted for so long.
When you visit the restaurants in downtown Ravenna, you will most likely run into someone you know dining out or picking up their take-out. You probably know the owner of the restaurant by their first name or recognize the girl next door, who is your server. You probably have enjoyed a few beers or a glass of wine with friends or had lunch with your grandma. It’s personal here, it’s close-knit. Our restaurants are also our family.
If you’ve popped in to Popped! for a quick treat, you know that Gwen and Aaron the owners, employ their kids and that it’s truly a family business. At Guido’s, your Italian food is sure to delight and you may know that Sam is back from Florida (or not) while his kids are working to continue the tradition as he decides when he might retire. Bill at Vance’s Carriage House Creamery makes the best fudge to be had, and their ice cream is out of bounds, it’s always worth the trip! At Megan’s Family Restaurant, you can get a great omelet or other down home meal at a truly great price while thinking about your next beach vacation staring at their mural.
Down the street at Dos Coronas, their margaritas are a sure hit and Roberto and Karla serve up the best. But at the West Main Street Winery, you have your choice of handcrafted wine or craft beer to try while out with friends enjoying local music. Lugapha’s Smoked BBQ Food Truck can keep you smiling at the winery too, serving up an Italian sausage sandwich or other goodies to keep you coming back for more on Thursday, Friday or Saturday nights on the wineries back patio.
Young and old alike have their special places to celebrate one of life’s special events, like Susie K’s Cafe and Tea Room for the best soups and pies around. Or how about Tavern 1888, who brings in craft beers from around our region and serves up a mean Karaoke night! But then again, don’t forget the ladies at Sunshine Cupcakes – who always bring a smile with the Best of the Best cupcakes in Portage County.
Bean and the Baker can get your day started off right and our new kid on the block, Ravenna Nutrition, helps keep us a little more healthy every day! We can’t forget our other pizza favs, Domino’s and Gioninos, who never disappoint to have dinner ready fast or can feed a team at the drop of a hat.
Our local restaurants are where we go for birthdays, engagements, weddings, girls’ night, boy’s night out, breakups, makeups, reunions and more. They feed us as we move through life events. Hopefully, you also know what your favorite restaurants did to make it through 2020, a year of restrictions, compliance measures and shutdowns, and that 2021 is still hard on them. You’ve watched them keep it together, create a safe and comfortable new experience, do what they could to keep staff and family employed and work in the short term to get from one week to the next. They reinvented themselves quickly and frequently. It wasn’t easy, but they made it happen… for you.
The NOSH card is to help build back that customer loyalty, offer one time savings and create opportunities to try a new restaurant or revisit an old one if it’s been awhile. In a small town like Ravenna it’s much more personal. At Main Street Ravenna, we’ve worked hard to create a unique and interesting event to keep you coming back for more and discovering what’s new in your historic downtown while working to revitalize the heart of the community.
How do you help? How do you say, “Thanks”? Buy a NOSH Card from Main Street Ravenna for $25 and ‘NOSH” Around Ravenna now through April 30. There will be plenty of time and plenty of space to visit each location. There are 14 participating restaurants preparing to make your visit delicious and memorable with special deals for breakfast, lunch, dinner or dessert. Visit all 14 and enter your completed NOSH Card into a prize drawing the first week in May for prizes courtesy of Main Street Ravenna. Don’t forget to get your card hole punched at each location!
Discover what’s cooking during NOSH Around Ravenna by visiting our website (www.mainstreetravenna.org/noshcard) and following Main Street on Facebook and Instagram where we’ll be talking about, looking at and eating delicious food this month. Be sure to thank your local independent restaurants for hanging in there and providing the local flavor that makes dining in our small town a trip down memory lane!
Julie McLain, Executive Director of Main Street Ravenna. NOSH Around Ravenna is now through April 30th NOSH Cards can be purchased on line at www.mainstreetravenna.org/noshcard, at the Portage Community Bank Drive Thru or from any of our fourteen members of our Board of Directors.
