Cafe Rewind sets grand opening for this weekend in Goodyear Heights. Here's what to expect

Cafe Rewind, the newest restaurant and cafe to open in Goodyear Heights, will celebrate its grand opening this weekend in the former post office at 1763 Goodyear Blvd.

The 40-seat eatery, a storefront business next door to the Linda Theatre, is co-owned by David Schweyer, Scott Summers and their partners, who have owned both the Akron cafe building and movie theater since June.

Linda Theatre: New owners to reopen with $5 movies Aug. 4 after cleanup, painting

Starting at 10 a.m. Friday, visitors will have the chance to sample a variety of ramen bowls, hot pressed sandwiches and salads created by head chef Alex Lane. Opening weekend will run 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon to 6:30 p.m. Sunday.

Guitarist Schweyer and keyboard player Lane have been friends for 20 years and play together in the band Wolfgeist.

"Alex and I have been cooking like mad since we've known each other. Basically we get together for band practice and decide, oh my God, we're hungry, and we start making what it is we want. Everything on the menu literally is what is it is because that's what we want for lunch," Schweyer said.

They've got some fun plays on words with their menu items, including the Chimera ramen bowl, which Schweyer refers to as "a mix of creatures." It's a chicken, house brisket and "pixel" pork barbecue "monster" that sells for $20.

"That's ridiculous, that one," Schweyer said. "Nobody can finish it."

The pixel part refers to both cubed pork and the little cubes you see in video games, a nod to the thousands of '80s and '90s video games available throughout the space that folks can play for free.

"Basically I built them because I like playing them," Schweyer said of the bank of video games at Cafe Rewind.

For about seven years, Schweyer had been renovating the old post office building, which he leased from former owner Ted Bare, to transform it into a cafe, music venue and arcade. About two years ago, Summers came on board with Schweyer with the post office building project and they ended up buying both Goodyear Heights buildings from Bare.

Food and drink at Cafe Rewind

Schweyer designed the logo for Cafe Rewind, which features a gaming controller connected by a curved cord to a coffee cup with musical notes coming out of the cup with steam.

The name Cafe Rewind also carries meaning.

"The concept comes from me and my sister talking about a decade ago that it would be nice to have a place where you can just sit down and rewind," Schweyer said.

His favorite menu item is the Roast Beast sandwich ($14), which features Korean barbecue beef brisket, monterey and cheddar cheese, lettuce, sweet peppers and mayo.

Menu items include organically grown vegetables, no-preservative meats and low-sodium broth for the ramen. Another thing that makes Cafe Rewind's ramen distinctive is its thick udon noodle, Schweyer said, which are filling and hold flavor well.

"More is more when it comes to the noodle," he said.

Drinks include a house blend and specialty coffee, which is an Ethiopian coffee this week. Schweyer also stressed 11 healthy herbal teas, called Essential Elixirs, with medicinal qualities.

Teas and coffees can also be mixed with flavor combinations ranging from vanilla to fruit flavors to salted caramel. Cafe Rewind also offers a gourmet hot chocolate with whipped cream, maple and chocolate sprinkles, rolled hazelnut wafer and a cherry on top.

Performance space adjacent to Cafe Rewind

Both the 75-year-old Linda and the Afterlife performance space, which is behind Cafe Rewind on the first floor, plan to offer live performances. The stage has been built at Afterlife, a space for about 200 that will have a grand opening at a later date. Another, new stage is part of future plans at the Linda.

"That's the place to harbor the talent" of local and regional performers, Schweyer said.

The co-owner plans to offer memberships at Cafe Rewind and the Linda, which will offer members advance notice on shows and events as well as discounts.

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: Cafe Rewind expects grand time at weekend opening in Goodyear Heights