Our love of historic restaurants began who knows when. From earliest childhood memories, we both recall being fascinated by them. We began sharing the experience in 1993, shortly after we both moved to the northern suburbs of Pittsburgh. Going to historic restaurants was a method of getting to know yet another new area, after a series of moves. We were active volunteers at the elementary school our children attended, and word quickly got out that we had these wonderful luncheon adventures. Soon, we had a group of ladies who shared the joy of discovering wonderful relics. Over lunch, in an atmosphere steeped in history, these women became some of our dearest friends.
The restaurants that are of the most interest to us really fit into two categories. The first are longstanding inns, taverns, and the like that have been in business in the same locale for a significant period of time. In these, we look for historical integrity inside and out. In other words, we want them to look as if George Washington, Abe Lincoln, or some other famous personage might walk in any minute. The second type includes restaurants housed in historic buildings such as schools, churches, barns, and train stations. In these locales, the portion of the building that is old or original varies, as conversions from one use to another have necessitated some changes, and modern building codes have dictated others. The exteriors have changed very little, so each is quite recognizable as what it once was. Buildings that once served as stores have probably changed the most inside, although the long, narrow rooms are unmistakable. Since stores are defined more by the wares they’ve carried than their architectural features, this isn’t surprising.
Our focus is on buildings that are more than one hundred years old, although on occasion we consider locations slightly younger than that if the history is of particular significance to the area. As we compile our initial list for consideration, we read absolutely everything we can. Typically, this starts with an Internet search for restaurants with their own web sites. Frequently, it also involves going through the yellow pages town by town, county by county, looking for names of restaurants that “sound historic.” Because we try to represent each state thoroughly, we contact convention and visitors’ bureaus and chambers of commerce for any literature they might have. This usually gives us additional information, as well as confirming our Internet resources. As we begin our travels, the gathering of information continues, as we pick up local fliers, seek personal recommendations, and drive the back roads in search of a “find.”
During the research for the first edition of this book, we compiled a list of close to five hundred Ohio restaurants, knowing from experience that some of them wouldn’t have maintained their historical features. Others would want to participate but would never quite get around to it. A few would think that sending us the recipes and history just wasn’t worth the effort. The very few that choose not to participate for this reason always sadden us, because invariably they’re fabulous places full of interesting facts that we wish we could share. Alas, we can’t begin to cover everything there is in three hundred pages anyway!
For this second edition, we began by contacting those restaurants that we’d included during our first Ohio go-round. Many were still as they had been when we did our initial research in 2000 and 2001. That’s not surprising, since our focus is in historic locales, after all. Other establishments were still in business but had changed names, owners, chefs, décor, menus, and who knows what else. Those entries had to be updated to reflect their evolution. Unfortunately, there were restaurants that for a variety of reasons were no longer in business. So our quest began anew to replace those. First on the list were those eateries that we’d identified during our first-edition research that for one reason or another never got their information to us. If we wanted them then, we wanted them again. We then broadened our search to look for things we might have missed or places that had come to be since 2001.
Our goal is to be as thorough as possible in representing cuisine, price points, types of establishments, and historical information, while comprehensively and appropriately representing the cities and counties across the state. In more ways than one, our books truly are A Taste of…
Our favorite part of the research continues to be meeting and talking to the people involved with the restaurants. Their stories are intricately woven into the fascinating history of each locale. As always, there were certain aspects of local history we expected to learn, such as those involving prominent families and their lovely homes. We were thrilled to find Underground Railroad locations and to learn how significant Ohio was to the cause. Other stories took us quite by surprise, and we hope you find them equally enlightening.
As in the previous edition and all of our other books, we organized the restaurants into chapters based on what they have in common. The cohesive thread in each reflects a slice of Americana that still exists throughout the state. Thriving Main Streets, farmsteads, and log cabins all provided inspiration for chapters, as did the Underground Railroad. We’ve started the book with a chapter called “Main Street, USA,” because in small towns across the heartland, what could be more appropriate? In this chapter, you’ll find an establishment from the Underground Railroad. Helping slaves to freedom was so pervasive within this town that it was mainstream on Main Street!
Within each chapter, we have listed the eateries in the order visited. The one exception is the travel chapter, “How Do I Get There from Here?” where we’ve arranged them by mode of conveyance, and within each mode by the order in which we visited. We’ve used pen-and-ink drawings to introduce each chapter. Each restaurant is represented by its own logo, giving the write-up its own unique heading.
Now that we’ve compiled five books in four different states, we continue to be amazed and thankful that so much history has been saved. Sometimes as we travel, we have difficulty telling exactly where we are as we drive past one mega store and chain establishment after another. While we accept that they serve a purpose and have a place in our economy and our lives, we lament the stories, history, and culture lost as independent businesses struggle to survive. We salute the warm, wonderful people throughout Ohio whom we’ve gotten to know, and hope that their stories, and this book, will in some way encourage others to take on the challenges and rewards of maintaining their local history.