Discover Akron’s Northside District

There are so many reasons to love Cleveland, but we’re in the process of choosing 40 of our favorite spots in Northeast Ohio to commemorate our 40th anniversary! If you haven’t checked out Akron’s Northside District, which borders downtown Akron and the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, you are missing out. It is home to over 80 retail shops and restaurants, including long-time institutions like Luigi’s, but continues to grow and evolve into one of Akron’s biggest hot spots. We thought it was  fitting to include it on our list (#29!)
The addition of the Northside Marketplace has been a game changer. This unique marketplace is home to a very eclectic mix of vendors, including art studios, a bicycle shop, locally-made honey, jewelry, candles, and soaps, to name a few.  The Marketplace offers a space for small businesses to grow with the support of local foundations and Akron business leaders.  Not only are there retail vendors and local artisans, but Northside also has a social lounge with various food vendors and a bar.  The Marketplace is open seven days a week and has recently welcomed the Countryside Farmers’ Markets into their space every Sunday, year-round, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Also found in the Northside District is D.B.A., an upscale and trendy restaurant owned by Cleveland chef and restauranteur, Dante Boccuzzi, and the Northside Speakeasy, which is a cocktail lounge that gives a nod to the Prohibition-era, with dark velvet curtains and secret entrances.

If you want to combine your shopping and eating trip with the outdoors, you don’t have to travel far. A stone’s throw away (just down the hill) from the Northside district is Cascade Locks Park, which is part of the Ohio and Erie Canalway National Heritage Area. There is an entrance to the towpath trail, as well as the Mustill Store, which houses a visitors center and exhibits showing the interesting history of the canal. The park does exactly what its original proponents hoped for: it has become a “crossroads of activity in a growing urban area with residential, retail, recreation and entertainment surrounding it.”