Six years ago, with his son heading off to school, Scott Malensek gave up being a stay-at-home dad and opened a downtown Akron soup joint.
He called the place Stew Pot Kitchen and told folks he had three rules: to have fun, to feed people and to make his business sustainable.
He managed to do all three until late last year.
Malensek began telling customers in the last few days that the shop, at 23 S. Main St., will hang up its ladle for the final time. He plans to permanently close the place by April.
On Monday, he posted “the last menu we will ever have” on the Stew Pot’s Facebook page.
Malensek said in an interview at the restaurant Monday afternoon: “You get into a business for a long list of reasons. And when there are a long list of reasons to get out, you have to be able to spot that — identify that — and get out.”
A key reason for getting out: the mild winter means the restaurant’s sales took a big hit.
“Real winters,” with chilly weather that makes folks want to warm up with soup, have been the Stew Pot’s friend, Malensek explained.
Malensek said he prided himself on keeping prices affordable and “that left us very little” as a cushion.
The Stew Pot Kitchen was initially at 30 N. High St., which is now home to the independent Nightlight Cinema.
In 2011, the eatery moved to 23 S. Main, on the ground floor of the Nantucket Building, among downtown redevelopment initiatives in the area led by Tony Troppe, an Akron developer. Troppe and partners also own the 30 N. High St. building.
Malensek said he’s not sure what he’s going to do next. He also co-owns, with David DiDomenico, the Coffee Pot Cafe, in the Akron-Summit County Main Library on Main Street, only a few storefronts away from his Stew Pot Kitchen. DiDomenico operates the Coffee Pot Cafe.
And Malensek owns Rubber City Comics, which recently reopened at a new location, on Mill Street downtown. It was previously called Quaker Square Comics.
“With the Stew Pot closing, I need a real job,” Malensek said, explaining that the operators of the comics book shop are doing a good job.
Malensek’s two Stew Pot employees — sister-and-brother Rebecca Spencer and Scott Davis, who are friends with Malensek — also are trying to figure out what they will do next.
Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com.