Chop & Swizzle, a new craft cocktail bar, quietly popped up in the old fire station at 60 Maple St. in Akron’s West Hill neighborhood.
The new bar/eatery is from Dick Kanatzar — known as Chef Dick — and Daniel Allyn, with Kanatzar supplying his creative eats from a food truck for the time being.
Kanatzar has been working as a roving chef, operating Chef Dick’s Kitchen at various venues and events after a stint at Vaccaro’s Trattoria in Bath Township.
Now Kanatzar has teamed up with Allyn, who has worked at area bars and restaurants, for Chop & Swizzle.
They’re calling the place “Akron’s first true hand crafted cocktail bar.” (Developer Joel Testa and partners were saying pretty much the same thing about their new Northside Speakeasy, in a corner of the ground floor of the Northside Courtyard by Marriott on Furnace Street, on downtown’s northern edge.)
So what is a craft cocktail? That depends on whom you are asking. Here’s what Kanatzar, 33, and Allyn, 37, say on their page on the crowd-funding site GoFundMe.com: “We feel like we can bring a perfect balance between classic cocktailing and modern mixology along with a fresh local farm to plate concept that will change the face of the industry.”
I last wrote about the yellow brick fire station — more than 100 years old — in 2007. At that time, there was talk of an Italian restaurant opening up in a portion of the building. Developer Tony Troppe and investors bought the firehouse in 2005 for about $150,000. Much more was spent fixing it up.
Go to the Chop & Swizzle Facebook page to see pictures of the cozy bar that Kanatzar and Allyn have created in the space they are leasing.
Hours for the time being are 7 to 11 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday and 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Phone is 330-283-8041. Chop & Swizzle is south of West Market Street.
Dinner benefits culinary club
Here’s a way to enjoy an adventurous eight-course meal prepared by area chefs and restaurant owners including Aaron Hervey of Crave, in downtown Akron, and Anthony Scolaro, of 111 Bistro in Montville Township.
This year’s Spring Graduate Chef Dinner at the University of Akron — open to the public — on April 2 will feature eats from Hervey, Scolaro and other graduates of the UA School of Hospitality Management.
The menu is broad and creative. It includes hors d’oeuvres prepared with help from student members of UA’s Culinary Artists Club, sea scallop appetizers (yes, appetizers after hors d’oeuvres), Classic American Turtle Soup, and swordfish with tomato dashi, black-eyed peas, ratatouille pave and pea shoots. The lineup also lists steamed buns with crispy chicken, sambal syrup and pickled vegetables; chimichurri lamb, grilled asparagus salad and desserts.
This is the 12th anniversary of the Culinary Artists Club, which hosts the event.
Festivities will begin at 5:30 p.m. A cash bar will offer wine and beer. Tickets are $50. The dinner will be served at UA’s Crystal Room restaurant inside Gallucci Hall, 200 E. Exchange St., Akron.
Phone 330-972-6615 for reservations, which are required. Money raised will benefit the Culinary Artists Club, which focuses on students learning and competing in fruit, vegetable, and ice sculpting.
Menches to dish on burgers
John Menches, co-owner of Menches Bros. restaurants in Green and Massillon, will talk at 7 p.m. April 18 about his ancestors’ claim of inventing the hamburger and the ice cream cone.
The Green Historical Society presentation — free and billed as kid-friendly — will be at the Green Central Administration Building, 1755 Town Park Blvd. Refreshments will be served.
Some say the hamburger was invented by the Menches brothers of Akron in the 1880s. (People in other states, including Wisconsin and Connecticut, dispute that, but this will be John Menches’ evening.)
Reminders
• Bricco in downtown Akron will host its first wine dinner in several years at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, reports owner David Glenny. Six courses will be paired with wines by Joseph Drouhin, including Meursault and Gevrey-Chambertin. Cost is $65, pus tax and tip. For reservations, call 330-475-1600. Bricco is at 1 W. Exchange St., at the corner of Main Street.
• Tangier and Ken Stewart’s Grille in Akron, and Blue Door Cafe & Bakery in Cuyahoga Falls are among places not normally open on Sundays that will be open for Easter. Call the restaurants for reservations.
Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com. You can follow her @KatieByardABJ on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com.