We say goodbye, we say hello …
The popular China Gourmet in Akron’s Wallhaven area will close at the end of the month after 25 years. At the historic Tallmadge Circle, Cortabella’s has closed.
Neither will be shuttered for long. Rumor is a Starbucks will open at the China Gourmet site sometime next year. In Tallmadge, a Danny Boy’s Italian Eatery, the sixth location of a small regional chain, will open early next year.
Here’s some more on each development in the area’s dining landscape.
Owners ready to retire
Hard to believe it has been a quarter-century since Lily and James Lee opened China Gourmet in the former Wendy’s across from Ken Stewart’s Grille.
Lily Lee says it’s simple: “We want to retire.” She’s 67 and James, who still cooks there, is 77.
The news is hitting customers hard. “We have all these customers we grew with these 20, 30 years,” Lily Lee said.
Some remember when the couple owned the former Mark Pi’s China Gate franchise on Tallmadge Avenue. The Lees opened it in 1985 after immigrating to the United States from Taiwan in 1978.
She’s happy to report that their employees are all finding work elsewhere. One is retiring.
So what made the place viable for 25 years? “Customers may wait a few minutes … but we always cook fresh,” Lee said.
Summit County property tax records show a company incorporated by Akron commercial developer Larry Levey, of LRC Realty, bought the China Gourmet building for $500,000. Lily Lee said officials haven’t discussed specific plans, but she, too, has heard the Starbucks rumors.
LRC developed the new Taco Bell nearby on West Market Street. LRC President Frank Licata declined to reveal the future tenant for the building, which will be renovated, but “we do intend to put a specific tenant there.”
My husband, Jim Carney, a retired Beacon Journal reporter, would never let me forget it if I failed to point out the China Gourmet building was the onetime home of a Manner’s Big Boy. Showing our age here, ahem.
Danny Boy’s coming
In Tallmadge, Cortabella’s closed this month and will become a Danny Boy’s, owned by Matt Hollingsworth, 35, and two partners who own Danny Boy’s restaurants in North Canton, Chesterland and Sandusky. (The chain was founded by Renee and Robert Grendow in Rocky River in 1991.)
Hollingsworth and partners Tim Higdon and Margaux Zannoni also have taken over operations of the Firehouse Grille & Pub and the Venue banquet center in the same complex.
The properties are owned by Tony Jaber, who in 2011 bought the former Bumpas Drug & Emporium building, a landmark on the southern tip of the circle, and located one of his Firehouse Grilles there. He later opened Cortabella’s at the Bumpas site.
Prior to Jaber buying it, the Bumpas building had been home to the Grotto fine dining restaurant.
Learn to make latkes
Leah Koenig, the New York-based author of The Hadassah Everyday Cookbook, will present “Latkes 2.0,” a demonstration featuring a twist on the classic favorite — made with beets instead of potatoes — at 7 p.m. Dec. 2 at the Shaw Jewish Community Center, 750 White Pond Drive in Akron.
Koenig’s free appearance is offered by the Beth El Congregation. Koenig’s most recent cookbook, Modern Jewish Cooking, was published earlier this year. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Saveur and other publications.
Craft Cocktails
Make and drink holiday libations at “Craft Cocktails,” presented by the nonprofit Countryside Conservancy, and award-winning bartender Lorilei Bailey at 7 p.m. Dec. 2 at the G.A.R. Hall in Peninsula.
Cost is $30. Each participant will taste three cocktails, receive recipes and get some cocktail trivia, says Countryside Conservancy. For more information or to register, visit www.cvcountryside.org or contact Julie Gabelman at 330-657-2542 or info@cvcountryside.org. Bailey, of Spice Kitchen + Bar in Cleveland, has twice won Cleveland’s “Most Imaginative Bartender Competition.”
Gingerbread houses
Learn how to make a gingerbread house from the folks at Reeves Cake Shop in Akron, at the bakery or at your own house or other location.
Two classes at the bakery, 2770 Cory Ave., will be held at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 2 and 9. Cost, which covers all supplies, is $25. Space is limited. Call 330-848-1036 to reserve.
And if you have a large group, employees of the 39-year-old family-owned shop will come to you. Rick Reeves said he and co-workers present workshops at homes, businesses, schools, churches and other locales. Cost for a workshop is $22 per house (minimum of 10). Group classes will be offered Nov. 27 through Dec. 18.
Reeves constructs the houses the night before with baked-from-scratch gingerbread. That way the icing is dry and the houses are sturdy enough to decorate with icing and candy pieces provided by the shop.
This Saturday, Reeves is offering an open house at the bakery from 1 to 4 p.m. Call 330-848-1036 or visit www.reevescakeshop.com for information.
Mindful eating class
Dietitian Judy Rogers will talk about “mindful eating” at a holiday-oriented cooking class, in which participants will bake and sample cookies and casseroles, at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 8.
Rogers said the class — at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church at 6462 Ridge Road in Sharon Center — will include a talk on “mindful eating for enjoying holiday food and provide strategies to avoid gaining those extra holiday pounds.”
Rogers, dietitian at Rockynol Retirement Community in West Akron, began offering monthly cooking classes at the church earlier this year.
Cost is $20. Recipes, handouts and all food supplies are included. Sign up by Nov. 30 by emailing Rogers at jrbadudi@gmail.com. Class size is limited.
Pop some corks
• More than 100 wines will be featured at the annual Holiday Wine Tasting at the Galaxy Restaurant, 201 Park Centre Drive, Wadsworth, at 7 p.m. Nov. 28. Included will be hors d’oeuvres, music, cooking demonstrations and contests. A silent auction will benefit the Salvation Army. The cost is $75. For reservations, go to www.galaxyrestaurant.com or call 330-334-3663.
• This Friday marks one of the last monthly wine tastings at the West Point Market at 1711 W. Market St. in West Akron. The Holiday Reds tasting, featuring 20 wines, will run from 7 to 9 p.m. Cost is $35 and includes heavy appetizers. Reservations required. Go to www.westpointmarket.com or call 330-864-2151.
The store will offer its annual Bubbles Bash next month. West Point plans to stay open through Christmas Eve, close Christmas Day and then reopen the next day, with all items priced at a significant discount.
A complex featuring a Whole Foods is to be built on the property. West Point plans to keep its valuable brand going with a new store in Fairlawn and also is planning “satellite stores.”
• Cellar 59, the wine bar and shop in a renovated farmhouse at 3984 Kent Road in Stow, will host its third annual Fall Tasting from 2 to 4 p.m. Nov. 22, featuring 20 wines at various price points, accompanied by light appetizers. Tickets are $40 plus tax in advance and $45 plus tax at the door. Call 330-688-2684.
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.