Recordpub.com - Celebrating success in Kent: Hundreds get sneak peak of Acorn Alley

RC Acorn Alley Ribbon Cutting Diane has ID's photo by Robert J. Lucas

RC Acorn Alley Ribbon Barbara Meeker being served by Hannah Messaros (from Cajun Dave's) photo by Robert J. Lucas

RC Acorn Alley Ribbon Mike Stricker & Kristi Trautman helping themselves to Dancing Beta Sushi. photo by Robert J. Lucas

RC Acorn Alley Ribbon Julie Troman with her son Benjamin (11 mths) - it looks like Benjamin is checking out the dish of pizza. photo by Robert J. Lucas

RC Acorn Alley Ribbon Bob Niederriter Quartet - ID's clockwise starting at 7 o'clock - Val Kent (drums) - Roger Hines (bass) - Bob Niederriter (guitar) - Tony Bonardi (keyboard). photo by Robert J. Lucas

By Diane Smith

Record-Courier staff writer

Hundreds of people filled Acorn Alley Friday night, getting a sneak peak at downtown Kent’s newest attraction.

Listening to music from the Bob Neiderriter Quartet, people stopped by the retail stores and sampled food — including offerings from businesses not yet open to the public.

Paul Geldhof, whose sushi shop, The Dancing Beta, is scheduled to open in a few weeks, rolled rice, vegetables and eel in seaweed, cutting it up as the samples were scooped up by an eager crowd.

Did he expect his samples to be so popular?

“Absolutely” he said. “Kent has been starved for culture for a long time.”

Geldhof, a Kent native, graduated from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh with a degree in culinary arts. He left his job as a caterer to return home and help his parents with their restaurant, The Stowaway Pub.

In addition to sushi, he plans to offer tempura and noodle and rice dishes.

Acorn Alley spans phases two and three of the Phoenix Project. Owner Ron Burbick, who has overseen the project for the past year, noted that the third phase is almost complete.

“Now we can enjoy ourselves,” he said as he welcomed guests to the grand opening.

Mayor John Fender noted that Ron Burbick often said, “If I build it, they will come.” Now, he noted, there are many shops to people to downtown.

“For many years, people would complain that there’s nothing to do in downtown Kent,” he said. “Now they’re in downtown Kent and there is a lot to see and do in the downtown.”

Michelle Hartman of RLB Phoenix Properties also owns the Arctic Squirrel, which gave scoops of ice cream to an eager crowd. The store has not yet opened to the public, but she said its opening will be “soon.”

Uniquely Yours Boutique also expects to open in the weeks ahead.

Stores already open for business include Rehab Vintage, the Pita Pit, Main St. Snack Shoppe, Flasher’s Cleaners and Jason’s Barber Shop.

Jason Fabick, an owner of the barber shop, said the business relocated from Water and Erie streets to the new location on Tuesday. When the store closed at 3 p.m. to prepare for the grand opening, he said he’d already served far more than his usual Friday crowd.

“I love it,” he said. “It’s about time they did something like this downtown.”

Many of the stores have a relationship with Kent State University. The Main St. Snack Shoppe is an entrepreneurship venture of KSU, said Heather Webber, manager of the store. The store specializes in Ohio made snack products and chocolates.

Rehab Vintage also has a partnership with the School of Fashion at KSU.

“They redesign our vintage clothing so it’s even more one of a kind,” said Devon Snedden, who owns the business along with Jessica Wheeler.

Upstairs, work continued on The Tannery, student-run advertising agency, which is a partnership between Phoenix Properties and the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at KSU.

Kent resident Henry Halem, who visited the stores with his wife, Sandra, said he was excited to see the town and gown partnership.

“It’s the first time since I’ve lived here that I’ve seen the university and the city interact in such a positive way,” he said.