Barrelhouse opens in former Arnie's spot in West Akron, emphasizing shareable small plates

Kerry Clawson, Akron Beacon Journal
Updated ·5 min read
Barrelhouse owner Nick Jones is a hands-on owner helping to serve food as it's put in the window at his Akron restaurant.
Barrelhouse owner Nick Jones is a hands-on owner helping to serve food as it's put in the window at his Akron restaurant.

Longtime bartender Nick Jones has bought the former Arnie's Public House in West Akron's Wallhaven neighborhood, bringing in chef Matt Trainor to start the new restaurant Barrelhouse.

"This is my first go-around. I'm just a career bartender and I had been looking for an opportunity for a while," Jones said.

Jones purchased the assets at the Westgate Plaza restaurant at 1682 W. Market St. from longtime Arnie's owner Steve Arn at the end of July, after Arn's July 25 retirement.

Jones did a quick turnaround, redecorating, developing a new menu and opening Barrelhouse within three weeks.

"It's been a little bit of a whirlwind," said Akron native Jones, 34, who opened to the public Aug. 23.

He said developing the menu with Trainor, who was chef at Arnie's for about six years before leaving last year to work as a pastry chef at DBA downtown, was the easiest part of preparations.

Trainor, who lives nearby in West Akron, started as chef at Arnie's in late 2015 when it underwent a makeover and transitioned from the bar Arnie's Standing Room Only to the restaurant/bar Arnie's Public House. He had previously worked at the Eye Opener a couple doors down from Arnie's and also worked as executive chef at Bricco eateries.

Arn had owned Arnie's for 25 years before that, back to when it was located further west on West Market Street.

Jones, who previously bartended at Hyde Park Grill as well as Vinifera in Cuyahoga Falls and Alley Cat Oyster Bar in the Cleveland Flats, worked for years at the Bricco restaurants with Trainor. Bricco was formerly owned by Jones' uncle, David Glenny, who will now be one of the bartenders at the new Barrelhouse.

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Barrelhouse remodeling

For now, the Arnie's sign remains outside Barrelhouse. A big, new Barrelhouse sign has been ordered and is expected to take eight weeks to arrive. Banners will be coming sooner and decal signs on the restaurant windows will soon be redone.

Barrelhouse owner Nick Jones is framed by the custom chandeliers hanging in the dining area of his restaurant in Akron.
Barrelhouse owner Nick Jones is framed by the custom chandeliers hanging in the dining area of his restaurant in Akron.

Jones, a Cuyahoga Falls resident, and friend John Washington have done most of the remodeling work. The restaurant's side entrance is now the main entrance and seating has been added to the front patio, which is now a no-smoking dining space.

Inside, the restaurant booths have been reupholstered in blue and red with black accents. A side wall also has a new corrugated, stainless steel feature.

The booths at Barrelhouse have been reupholstered in the space that formerly housed Arnie's Public House in Akron.
The booths at Barrelhouse have been reupholstered in the space that formerly housed Arnie's Public House in Akron.

Preparations included some kitchen upgrades. In the dining room, Barrelhouse has new chandeliers and the walls have been painted blue, with one accented by eight wood bourbon barrel lids, which Jones ordered on Amazon.

Jones loves beer and bourbon, hence the Barrelhouse name. He kept the "house" part as an homage to Arnie's Public House. Photos of Akron from Arnie's also are now in the Barrelhouse's main entrance vestibule.

Barrel lids hang over dining tables at Barrelhouse in Akron.
Barrel lids hang over dining tables at Barrelhouse in Akron.

Barrelhouse menu

Jones and Trainor stressed that Barrelhouse is a restaurant first that serves drinks. The stars of the menu are Trainor's shareable small plates.

Two are carryovers from the Arnie's menu: fried green tomatoes ($12) with crumbled goat cheese and honey chipotle aioli, and Hungarian hot peppers ($12) with risotto, sausage, mozzarella and marinara with crusty bread.

Barrelhouse's five entree-sized salads, which cost from $13 to $15, are big enough for two people to share.

Barrelhouse's spinach salad with bacon, grape tomatoes, pickled red onion, white French dressing and a poached egg.
Barrelhouse's spinach salad with bacon, grape tomatoes, pickled red onion, white French dressing and a poached egg.

Amid a choice of 10 shared plates, Jones recommends that two people share three or four. Side dishes from mac and cheese ($8) to mushroom risotto ($8) also can be shared.

Shared plates include casino oysters ($15), Trainor's version of clams casino that features oysters on a half shell broiled with Tobasco and compound butter and bacon, and topped with toasted panko crumbs. His cauliflower steak ($8) is steamed and then seared to get charred tips, served with a sesame/soy/chile sauce and topped with an herb salad.

The menu is expected to change and evolve.

Barrelhouse's cauliflower steak served with herb salad.
Barrelhouse's cauliflower steak served with herb salad.

All-day brunch at Barrelhouse

Barrelhouse also offers all-day brunch, with kitchen hours 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday and Wednesday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, and 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday.

Barrelhouse's Chick n Waffles.
Barrelhouse's Chick n Waffles.

Brunch choices from $10 to $16 are chicken and waffles, French toast, eggs benedict with real Hollandaise sauce, a three-egg Bear Omelette and a Huevo Sandy egg dish.

Folks can also customize their burger or sandwich at Barrelhouse, choosing a bread or romaine bowl; protein including smash burger, turkey burger, vegan burger, salmon, grilled or fried chicken; choice of 11 cheeses and various toppings and sauces.

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Barrelhouse bar

Barrelhouse offers 12 draft beers as well as bottles and cans, seltzers, wines, cocktails and spirits. Barrelhouse's margarita features cognac instead of tequila and the house cocktail is created with house-made lemonade and a choice of berry purees and spirits.

Customers can also do "beer roulette," where they pick a number from one to 10 and get a beer that coincides with that number that particular week for $2.

The bar remains open until 11 p.m. Sunday-Monday and Wednesday-Thursday, and midnight Friday-Saturday. Barrelhouse is closed on Tuesdays.

Arts and restaurant writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Barrelhouse restaurant open in former Arnie's spot in West Akron