RAVENNA − The Horseshoe Diner usually isn’t open for dinner.
But every other Wednesday, crooners show up, dine on dinner specials and pick out a song or two to sing for the crowd.
Owner Woodie Goodnight said it’s all part of a plan to get the community to realize there’s a new dining spot in town.
“We’ve got to do something to let people know we’re here,” he said.
Goodnight and his wife, Susan, opened The Horseshoe Diner in October 2023. It’s at 250 W. Main St., in a former department store now known as Buckeye Mini Mall. The diner is open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Sunday, and later hours for special events.
The diner takes its name from a restaurant of the same name, which operated from the 1940s to 1960s next to the Hotel Ravenna, where Etna House stands today.
The couple owned Angelo’s Pizza in Rootstown, until the widening of State Route 44 pushed their business out. In 2018, they opened The Slop Truck, and still run the food truck during the spring and summer months.
The site where the diner stands had been vacant for six years. The previous tenant shared the mini mall with a variety of retailers, including a military recruiter, who kept foot traffic moving past the eatery. Today, most of the diner’s neighbors generate less foot traffic, and Goodnight said that means he has to work harder to get his name out.
So he’s partnered with a variety of community organizations. Shortly after opening, he hosted a variety of crafters outside for Midnight Madness. He’s hosted gatherings of groups ranging from gamers to Red Hat Ladies to the Balloon A-Fair committee to a reunion of the last class of the old Ravenna Township High School.
The restaurant also has begun recognizing other local businesses and rewarding Mark Frisone, who intervened after witnessing a car crash, with free food all week.
“If it’s Ravenna, it’s us,” Goodnight said.
His latest venture is a partnership with DJ Krooze, who brings in karaoke every other Wednesday along with others from the Krew Way Experience. Krooze, whose real name is Fallon Schwab-Davis, hosts karaoke in her home town every Wednesday, moving to the West Main Street Winery on the other two Wednesdays of the month.
At a recent karaoke night, it was clear that Krooze had regulars of her own. She and her DJs sang duets with many of them, and she partnered with Dave Gibson, a country crooner, on a duet of “Shallow.”
Gibson, a Rootstown resident, said he was dining at the Horseshoe when he noticed there would be a karaoke night. After his duet with Schwab-Davis, he marveled at her vocal prowess.
“She is amazing,” he said.
Reporter Diane Smith, who will neither confirm nor deny singing for her supper at the Horseshoe, can be reached at 330-298-1139 or dsmith@recordpub.com.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Horseshoe Diner in Ravenna aims to spread the word about food, fun
EMEA Tribune is not involved in this news article, it is taken from our partners and or from the News Agencies. Copyright and Credit go to the News Agencies, email news@emeatribune.com Follow our WhatsApp verified Channel
