Kenmore seeks artists to design neighborhood mascotCreate Our Cardinal winner will receive $500, have design featured regionally
March 18, 2021 (Akron, OH) – Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance is offering $500 to the artist or designer who can best capture Kenmore’s proud, hard-working history and quirky, playful nature in the Create Our Cardinal design contest.
Submissions are due April 1, and the Alliance will choose three finalists for a community vote, which will take place online April 5-12. The cardinal design with the most votes will be announced April 15 and adopted as the Alliance’s mascot “promoting Kenmore both locally and regionally,” said Tina Boyes, Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance’s executive director.
In a February survey, Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance followers overwhelmingly voted the cardinal as their preferred mascot. For more than 100 years, the cardinal represented Kenmore High School as its mascot, outlasting Kenmore’s city status which ended with annexation by Akron in 1929. In 2017, the Akron Public Schools merged Kenmore High School with neighboring Garfield High School, bypassing the cardinal for Garfield’s Golden Ram.
“We hope the new mascot can reignite community pride while reflecting a new generation of creative and innovative Kenmore residents,” Boyes said.
Create Our Cardinal contestants must submit their cardinal as both a front-facing and side-facing design. Entries will be judged on the basis of creativity, originality, composition, simplicity, visual impact and how well they communicate and promote the Kenmore neighborhood. Preferred designs will be fun, friendly, modern and easily applied to any kind of media.
For more information, or to submit a cardinal design, visit betterkenmore.org/cardinal. To receive contest updates, register for the Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance’s e-newsletter at betterkenmore.org/news.
ABOUT KENMORE NEIGHBORHOOD ALLIANCE
Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance is a community development corporation formed in 2016 to preserve, enhance, promote and develop the Kenmore neighborhood in southwest Akron by engaging residents and stakeholders in effecting physical, cultural, artistic, recreational and economic revitalization. For more information, visit www.betterkenmore.org or follow KNA on Twitter or Instagram @kenmoreohio, or on Facebook @betterkenmore.
Originally Posted Wednesday, 10 March 2021 via Akron Beacon Journal
Photo: Mike Cardew, Akron Beacon Journal
This tiny shop was born of the pandemic and love of tea.
Jeewaka Costa opened the Mani-Kitchen Tea Shop 2Health 4Life, offering 120 varieties of its own brand of loose tea — last fall at 978 Kenmore Boulevard in Akron’s Kenmore neighborhood.
The shop offers a dizzying array of tea types and flavors — from the traditional English Breakfast to Lemon Meringue herbal tea to Toasted Hazelnut Crunch black tea.
There are more than a dozen flavored green teas, including Lavender Clouds Over Ohio.
The shop also sells custom made glass tea cups and tea pots with the ManiKitchen logo on them, as well as spoon tea infusers and other tea ware.
The shop does not offer prepared tea.
Tea fan Costa, who is from Sri Lanka, a top-producer of tea, was laid off from his aircraft maintenance job last spring amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that hit the airline industry hard.
Months later in September, Costa and his wife, Pradeepa — both of whom grew up drinking tea in Sri Lanka — opened the shop.
“Without COVID, we never would have thought of having this shop,” said Jeewaka’s 13-year-old son, Suvik Costa, at the shop one recent afternoon.
During the ongoing pandemic, he and his sister, Sadali, 12, have been attending school remotely, often logging on to their computers at the ManiKitchen Tea Shop.
They set up in a small space behind the ManiKitchen counter.
The couple’s daughter Sithu, 4, attends pre-school.
“COVID has brought us together,”
Jeewaka Costa said. He noted that he previously commuted to Indiana from the family’s home in Stow to work in aircraft maintenance.
He has a bachelor’s degree in aeronautics from Kent State University. Pradeepa Costa also received her bachelor’s degree — in education — from Kent State. She also has a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Akron. The ManiKitchen name is a riff on her nickname, Manik.
Jeewaka Costa owns the shop space, having bought the property in 2016. He had leased it out for a time, but it has been vacant for several months.
Cup of comfort
He had long wanted to do something entrepreneurial. Selling tea amid the pandemic made sense, he thought, what with people concerned about their health and wanting the comfort of a cup of tea.
The tea is produced offsite, with Jeewaka Costa working with a friend of his father’s who has experience in the tea industry.
Photo: Mike Cardew, Akron Beacon Journal
Costa, like many other tea lovers, praises the potential health benefits of tea. Researchers say tea may offer some health benefits, including fighting depression and inflammation, as well as offering potential immune boosting properties. A review of studies published last year in the Advances in Nutrition Journal said drinking tea daily may be associated with lower cardiovascular disease. Costa said his family members have for years combined Sri Lankan herbal medicine with Ceylon teas made famous by the British Empire. Ceylon — now called Sri Lanka — gained its independence from British rule in 1948.
Dozens of varieties of loose tea — packaged in 4-ounce sealed containers — fill shelves that line the hop’s two side walls, as well as shelves running through the middle of the room.
The teas are organized by type — green, chai, rooibos (a red tea popularized in South Africa), white, purple (very low in caffeine), herbal and others.
Among black teas, there are traditional blends, such as Earl Grey (Mani-Kitchen calls its version Earl Grey Supreme), English Breakfast and Russian Caravan (a blend of oolong tea — a Chinese tea baked in the sun) and other teas.
There also are 20 flavored black teas, including Amaretto, Belgian Chocolate, Pomegranate, Ginger Peach and Mango Ceylon.
Next to the tins of each kind of tea is a small glass jar with a flip lid that contains a small amount of the tea. This way, customers can smell before buying.
A spot of tea trivia: Black tea, green tea, oolong tea and white teas are all made from the cured or fresh leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. Tea producers control the level of oxidation in processing the leaves; green tea is made from leaves that are not as oxidized as those used to make black tea. Oolong tea is somewhere between green and black teas in oxidation.
Herbal tea is technically not tea, but rather a concoction of fruit, flowers, spices or leaves steeped in water. The popular chamomile tea is made with flowers from the daisy-like chamomile plant.
Available online, at area businesses
All of ManiKitchen’s teas can be purchased online at www.manikitchen.com.
ManiKitchen teas also are available at Cafe O’Play in Stow, Olive My Heart in Hudson and Stahl’s Bakery in Kent.
Organizations such as sports teams and Scout troops also can sell the tea to raise funds, Jeewaka Costa said.
Soon, the Costas will introduce the makings for kola kenda at the shop. It’s a Sri Lankan herbal leaf porridge (which includes rice and coconut) that some people say has healing properties. It also will be sold in a 4-ounce tin.
Jeewaka Costa hopes to land another job in airline maintenance. He would keep the tea shop and employ someone to oversee the shop.
He thinks fate led him to opening the place and introducing people to tea.
“God has not given us a bad situation,” he said. “Everything happens for a perfectly good reason.”
The shop is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Sometime in April, the hours will change to 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Kenny Lambert is setting out to change the world in one particular city in the 330 area code one shirt or hoodie at a time.
His clothing company, Just a Dad From Akron, will open its first storefront at 937 Kenmore Blvd. on Saturday.
He says he is peddling more than just clothes: He is also selling a message that you don’t have to be perfect to love one another and be a better person.
Lambert, 30, readily admits he was once — not that long ago — a pretty despicable person. He grew up in Springfield Township and started drinking at around age 15. He soon graduated to smoking weed and then just about every other drug, recreational or hardcore, you can imagine by the time he hit his late teen years in Akron.
Lambert said he was a mess.
A user of not only drugs but anyone who set out to help him.
There were arrests along the way along with stints in rehab and even jail.
None of it stuck, and he continued to drink and use drugs.
He hit proverbial rock bottom just over three years ago.
He was about to be a dad and was living out of his car after he had exhausted the kindness of every last friend and relative who had offered second chance after second chance and a spot on their couches — only to be rewarded with having to deal with either a drunken or high house guest.
Things were so bad, Lambert said, he even prayed that God would either take his life or send along an angel in the form of the police officer to bust him either for possession or driving under the influence.
God sent the latter. He ended up arrested and in rehab once again.
But this time was different, Lambert said. He was ready to make some changes.
For you see, God sent another angel, and her name was Amelia.
“She really turned my life around,” he said of his baby.
He had not only his fragile grasp on sobriety to worry about now but also this loving, unjudging baby to live for.
But there was the not-so-small matter of finding work.
Not an easy task for someone with a criminal record and a history of substance abuse. He began working construction jobs and rebuilding his own life.
Lambert said he wasn’t so sure construction was the ultimate answer.
He had previously organized large parties where alcohol flowed freely and sold clothing he designed on the side to the revelers. He knew that wasn’t the answer this time — he knew he had to stray from his partying past, but he still wanted to tap in to this creative side while making ends meet to help co-parent his daughter.
It was a chance encounter — albeit at a distance — with Just a Kid From Akron that changed the course of his life.
He like hundreds of others watched LeBron James as he sat courtside and never touched a basketball at a youth basketball game in Akron.
Lambert said he was mesmerized watching LeBron just be a dad excited to watch his son play basketball.
Like a thunderclap, Lambert said, the idea came to name his new venture “Just a Dad From Akron” to sell clothing with messages about change and being a better person and in turn a better father.
There are now some 15 different designs, from one that says “do it for the kids” to another that makes a plea to “stop the violence.”
In the early days, Lambert said, he would make the shirts after work from his construction job and then hand-deliver them to customers.
Most of the orders were from in and around Akron in the early days, and it was a lot easier and cheaper to drive them to people’s houses than mail them.
He saved as much as he could from his construction job to help support the fledgling business.
Interest in his shirts began to spread — along with interest in the story of how he had turned his life around and was working to make a difference in the community, one shirt at a time — and folks wanted to meet him.
Lambert is active on social media with a website and Facebook page that use the Just a Dad From Akron monikers.
He spent time talking to customers — many who, like him, were looking to turn their lives around and be part of change in the community.
Lambert said he became an evangelist of sorts, sharing his own story of imperfection and working each day to remain clean and sober for his daughter
He decided early on to set aside some proceeds to help sponsor events in and around the city, from a rally calling for an end to violence to a free picnic providing a chance for folks to gather and break bread.
He picked up some friends along the way who helped keep the young business alive. One of them was Sebastian Spencer, 20, who was recently killed in an ATV accident on Portage Lake.
Lambert said Spencer was his real first employee as he struggled in the early days to fill the orders for gear that started coming in at a clip of 30 an hour.
Spencer’s tragic death was a sobering challenge, Lambert admits, to his nearly three years of sobriety.
The fun-loving friend had stopped by the storefront not long before the accident to help with renovations.
Lambert points to a door frame where Spencer scrolled his own name after they struggled to make a paint pen work. This same cursive name is now one of the many tattoos that mark a life hard-lived on Lambert’s body. It holds a place of prominence on his head right behind one ear.
Spencer is also remembered inside the store with a small memorial right behind the counter. “When the store opens it will be like he’s behind the counter working,” Lambert said.
The store itself, Lambert hopes, will serve not only as a place for customers to buy gear but also a place to lend an ear for someone looking for help in changing his or her own life around.
This is not your typical business plan where the primary goal is to sell shirts, shirts and more shirts.
Long before it opened, Just a Dad From Akron helped distribute Christmas gifts to needy neighborhood families from the then-empty storefront.
The site that was a former beauty salon in a previous life now sports an eclectic collection of murals from budding Akron artists. The walls are sort of like the collection of tattoos on Lambert’s body — a hodgepodge of artistic expression.
“I’ve completely turned my life around,” he said. “No matter where you are in your life — I’m an example that you too can turn your life around.”
Craig Webb can be reached at cwebb@thebeaconjournal.com.
Details What: Just a Dad From Akron storefront Where: 937 Kenmore Blvd. in Akron For more: Visit https://justadadfromakron.com/
February 18, 2021 (Akron, OH) – Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance is bringing the fun back to First Fridays on Kenmore’s Boulevard, popularly known as Akron’s “music row,” beginning June 4, 2021. The Alliance is now inviting musicians, vendors and sponsors to contact them for opportunities to be part of the fun.
Since June 2018, Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance’s First Fridays have welcomed thousands of residents and visitors for a night of live entertainment, food trucks, craft beer, children’s activities and more. First Fridays have featured some of the region’s best local rock, country, hip-hop, jazz and blues musicians.
Performer pay ranges from $50 for a half-hour set to $250 for an hour. Sponsorships range from $500 to $2,500. Vendor spots are $15 per event. Musicians and local businesses can find out more about First Fridays opportunities by visiting www.betterkenmore.org/events.
ABOUT KENMORE NEIGHBORHOOD ALLIANCE
Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance is a community development corporation formed in 2016 to preserve, enhance, promote and develop the Kenmore neighborhood in southwest Akron by engaging residents and stakeholders in effecting physical, cultural, artistic, recreational and business revitalization. For more information, visit www.betterkenmore.org or follow KNA on Facebook (facebook.com/betterkenmore), Twitter or Instagram (@kenmoreohio).
Aletha Harris, owner of BrighStart Early Preschool, is known to many to be a determined, strong and professional businesswoman: She attended Kenmore High School and has worked and lived in the area for many years. But it was her love for children that motivated her to open her own daycare business and accumulate more than20 years in the industry.
In June of 2020, Harris’ strength and determination came in handy when, during the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, she chose to open her second daycare location at1069 Kenmore Blvd.
Long time coming
“l had been eyeballing this building since 2012,” said Harris said. “I used to go to the doctor here.”
The building’s former use worked out in Harris’ favor: Many of the pandemic-related CDC recommendations became that much easier to implement.
“There are sinks in each classroom…I intended to keep the sinks by the entryway so children can come in and wash hands,” she explained. “We limit what children can bring in and my staff is constantly cleaning and sanitizing. We are keeping classroom sizes smaller.”
While Harris said she is proud of the way her staff has stepped up during theCOVID-19 pandemic, she is proudest of the great reputation the business has earned over the years. BrightStart frequently gets referrals from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services as well as positive reviews from parents. And given her decades in the business, Harris has also had the opportunity to care for several generations of the same family.
“When people say my establishment is awesome, that makes me very proud,” she said.
Looking forward
In addition to the well-equipped building, Harris chose the Boulevard as her second home thanks in part to recent revitalization efforts., including the Kenmore First Friday events coordinated by Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance.
“I noticed all the festivities happening on the Boulevard because, for a while, it seemed like nothing was happening,” she explained, adding she looks forward to participating in upcoming events and connecting with more Boulevard business owners. “I love my location on the Boulevard,” she said.
BrightStart Early Preschool is open 6 a.m. to midnight Monday through Friday and accepts students age 6 weeks to 4 years. For more information, visit their Facebook page or call 234-571-3003.
Although 2020 seemed to be a dark year of disappointments, Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance helped to end the year with a bright new tradition.
The Light The Boulevard Window Contest is a seasonal window decorating competition sponsored by Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance with support from Heritage Ohio. The competition paired artsy residents, organizations, and volunteers with Kenmore Boulevard business owners in a no-holds-barred creative match.
In its inaugural year, the Light The Boulevard Window Contest was a big hit with businesses, residents, and volunteers. “I had so much fun, I’m going to start planning for next year now,” said Nora Trogdon, one of the 20 artists to compete for a fully catered meal from Thai Soul Fusion. Jennifer Brumbaugh won the competition with her window display themed “Light of the World” located at New Beginnings Boutique and Thrift. The first runner-up went to Roberta Wrights & Dianna Stalcup’s “Snowman Wonderland” display at Rent A Center, and the second runner-up was awarded to Suzanne Mourton’s “Christmas Village” display at ManiKitchen Tea Shop
The Light The Boulevard Window Contest is one of two new holiday traditions. Thanks to support from the City of Akron and Community Hall Foundation, Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance also installed lights on the median trees of Kenmore Blvd. Those lights will remain up for the remainder of the winter season.
KNA executive director Tina Boyes said she hopes this new tradition can bring joy and attention to the Kenmore Boulevard Historic District.
Want to help make the Boulevard brighter next year? KNA is accepting donations of gently used decorations and lights. You can drop them off through Jan. 15 at the Kenmore Branch Library, 969 Kenmore Blvd. or the Kenmore Community Center, 880 Kenmore Blvd. 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. Monday – Friday. For more information, contact betterkenmore@gmail.com.
A global pandemic, event cancellations and lockdowns didn’t stop the volunteers of Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance from revitalizing the Kenmore Boulevard Historic District in 2020.
Despite the COVID-19’s impact on small businesses, the number of occupied commercial buildings in the district grew by 16 percent this year. The following five business located to the district and continue to operate as of Nov. 1: BrighStart Early Preschool at 1069 Kenmore Blvd., My Love Home Care at 985 Kenmore Blvd., Hall of Fame Barbershop at 930 Kenmore Blvd., ManiKitchen Tea Shop at 978 Kenmore Blvd. and ThaiSoul Fusion Grill at 992 Kenmore Blvd.
Our Design Committee completed its first façade renovation at 975 Kenmore Blvd. Through the City of Akron’s Great Streets grant program and with support from the Knight Foundation, we removed the building’s vinyl siding, restored the brick, and installed an energy-efficient glass storefront similar to that of the 1923 original. Interior renovations continue as our Economic Vitality Committee looks forward to announcing a long-term tenant in early 2021.
Thanks to funding from the Community Hall Foundation and the city of Akron, we were able to purchase and install color-changing lights on the median trees throughout the the Kenmore Boulevard Historic District. Through funding from Heritage Ohio, we held our first of what we hope will be many Light the Boulevard Window Contests, in which 20 crafty and creatively minded volunteers “adopted” storefronts with bright and creative displays.
While our Promotion & Events Committee was eager to build on the energy of last year’s Kenmore First Friday and holiday events, COVID-19 forced us to adapt. In May and June, we hosted Virtual First Fridays. Starting in July, we partnered with The Dragon’s Mantle, the Kenmore Chamber of Commerce and a variety of generous sponsors to host socially distant drive-in concerts in the Kenmore Boulevard South Alley parking lots. They featured carhop service from local food businesses and musical acts like Jim Ballard, Zach and American Idol veteran Madeline Finn. In all, we drew more than 350 people to the district at a time when outdoor live music events were scarce in Summit County.
As we close 2020, we would like to thank our generous donors and funders for helping us continue our work during these unprecedented times. They include Akron Community Foundation, the City of Akron, Kenmore Chamber of Commerce, Knight Foundation, GAR Foundation and United Way. We also thank our dedicated volunteers, without whom none of our success would have been possible. To keep up to date on all the latest Boulevard news and events, register for our e-news. And, to help us continue our revitalization in 2021, make a tax-deductible donation.
ThaiSoul Fusion Grill brings an exciting combination of traditional Thai and soul food to 992 Kenmore Blvd. Since relocating in mid-September from Romig Rd., the restaurant has been offering a diverse menu that includes hibachi-style dishes to burgers and wings. “What makes us unique is the quality of our ingredients,“ said owner Chef Tawon Burton, who operates ThaiSoul Fusion with his wife, Patricia. “People constantly tell us they feel like they should be dining in and drinking wine because of the quality of our carryout,” Patricia added. The Burtons say they’re happy to be in family-friendly Kenmore, and Tawon brings with him a special fondness of the Boulevard. He attended Kenmore High School and spent a large portion of his childhood here. “I love that we get a lot of kids at the carry-out window after school hours, and I wish that we could do more outreach,” Tawon said. That outreach includes a Junior Chef program, where school-aged children learn how to shop for ingredients and prepare meals. The couple has taught the courses in the past and said they hope to continue them in Kenmore.
ThaiSoul Fusion Grill is available for carry out Tuesday-Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. by calling 330-937-8846. They will resume dine-in service when pandemic restrictions are lifted, adding outdoor seating during the warmer months.
On Friday, Oct. 2, Americana favorites Hey Mavis will headline a night of Appalachian music from 6 to 9 p.m. in Kenmore Boulevard’s South Alley parking lots, which are accessible via 13th and 15th St. The duo’s Kenmore First Friday Drive-In Concert appearance comes on the heels of the Knight Foundation’s $4 million grant to convert where the Ohio & Erie Canal enters Akron’s Summit Lake into a 35-acre public parkconnecting the Kenmore and Summit Lake neighborhoods.
Hey Mavis’s most recent album, “Silver Ribbon Dream – Songs & Stories of the Ohio & Erie Canal,” gives listeners a lens into those who lived and worked in the area during the canal’s earliest days.
“This part of Ohio owes much of its early development to the canal,” said Laurie Carner, Hey Mavis’s lead singer and songwriter. “The conditions for
Tina Boyes, executive director of the Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance, said she hopes the concert does the same for her community. “These are lean times, particularly for our local small business owners, and it can be easy to get discouraged,” she explained, “but the music and camaraderie of shows like these give our little music district hope for the future.”
Hey Mavis will be joined by Americana trio The Stirs and Madison Cummins, whose latest release “Antidote” is included in 91.3 FM The Summit’s rotation. Carhop food service will be provided by ThaiSoul Fusion Grill, which recently relocated to Kenmore Boulevard from Romig Road.
A suggested donation of $5 per car will support the ongoing revitalization efforts of Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance. In addition, attendees will get a link to a free download of Hey Mavis’s newest song, “Yes, the Gypsy Music.”
Cars will be parked at least six feet apart, and attendees are welcome to place lawn chairs in their parking spots. In accordance with the Ohio Department of Health guidelines, face coverings are recommended.
Kenmore First Fridays are presented by Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance, the Kenmore Chamber of Commerce, and a variety of generous sponsors. The Oct. 2 event is funded in part by the Friends of Chestnut Ridge Park and Akron Community Foundation. For full event details, visit www.facebook.com/betterkenmore.
