Delaware is more than a Presidential birthplace turned gas station

My wife and I have grown to love trips up US 23 into Delaware the past several years. One of the fastest growing small towns in Ohio (with population jumping nearly 20% during the 2010 decade), downtown Delaware still has a very small town feel, something we’ve come to appreciate with other Central Ohio cities like Westerville and Worthington. Over the years, we have acquired our favorite Delaware destinations that have become almost mandatory for us (Barley Hopsters, Sandusky Street Antiques, and Restoration Brew Worx come to mind.) Even our first fancy (and still one of our best) Ohio meals ever took place in 2015 at Veritas in Delaware, a restaurant that has continued gaining acclaim after its relocation to Columbus.

The folks at Main Street Delaware and Destination Delaware County have done their fair share of outreach to let the wider public know that Delaware is worth an occasional day trip or two, with an annual Experience Delaware event (targeted to local bloggers and influencers) to magnify it over social media channels. Five years running (save for a couple of pandemic-interrupted years), many of my fellow colleagues have been treated to the hospitality of these organizations and participating businesses over the years, but the stars had never lined up for me in terms of my attendance..

In 2023, that changed, and I was looking forward to a day of exploration. Other than meeting some of my fellow bloggers/influencers (many of whom I hadn’t seen since pre-pandemic days), exploring businesses that my wife and I hadn’t sought or known about proved quite appealing. Indeed, this event showed that in spades.

Early on, I learned this Experience Delaware event was the biggest one yet. The back of Fresh Start Cafe and Bakery was packed with dozens of influencers and, in some cases, their spouses. Appropriately, we were treated to many of the bakery’s solid breakfast-oriented goodies, some of which we had sampled before on a visit into Delaware last year. It would’ve been easy to over-gorge on everything there so I kept it relatively tame (a pop-tart and a mini-sausage and egg slider), but I did make sure to get my caffeine fix for the day.

We received an introduction to the event from main host Todd Daughenbaugh, the owner of Fresh Start who has spearheaded the event the last couple of years, as well as the area’s tourism officials and a greeting from Miss Ohio 2023 Madison Miller. The collective enthusiasm they had for this event got me stoked to explore, and after some mingling and photos to capture the initial festivities, the gathered were let loose to, well, experience Delaware.

The Basics: While we could visit any downtown Delaware business, organizers asked us to give specific participating businesses special attention, with most of them having special promotions/gifts for event goers. I was open to exploring beyond our usuals, so this proved to be a perfect opportunity to sample some new businesses.

Book Smart: My wife and I have recently gone on a bookstore quest no matter where our travels take us, with independent bookstores a focus. Beanbag Books fit that bill perfectly, providing a perfect spot for you to acquire your children and young adult oriented books, plus related paraphernalia. It wasn’t hard to pick out a couple of books to give to one of our many nieces and nephews for an upcoming family get- together.

The Homespun Life: Many of the participants in this year fell into that “home decor/arts and crafts” style shop, but there was something to recommend all that we visited.

One of the most recent arrivals into Delaware (opened in April), Goat Local has combined both a local focus and outdoor/nature vibe into the mix (if Powell’s outdoor-oriented Nocterra Brewing ever had a fancy merch shop, this would be a good model for it.) I ended up with some plant food for my citrus plant, but there’s far more to this place, including some fun wall clocks that I know one of my influencer colleagues jumped on. Also, the pint glass given to event participants was a winner in my book.

I could’ve sworn there was a branch of Honey & Abernathy in Columbus (too many two-named places to keep track of, I suppose.) However, there’s only one, and this shop just slightly off the main drag in the Sandusky Street South Block nicely splits the difference between the chain home decor store and locally focused outlet (e.g. I found chocolates from both nationally distributed Hammond’s out of Denver as well as Canton’s own Ben Heggy’s.) There’s plenty of gift ideas that will fit most every occasion or just because you feel like it (there are even so called mystery boxes to up the anticipation factor) – I ended up with a fun artwork involving a sloth, a couple of bookmarks, and a greeting card myself.

Tiny House Vintage and Art’s home decor specialty lies in signs, both pre-made and customized, but you can also find seasonal goods as well as a few gourmet food items. They had one of the neater gifts for Experience Delaware goers in butterfly ornaments, and I’m looking forward to sampling some black truffle hot sauce they had in house.

Finally, Mystic Moon has some of the kitsch that Clintonville’s Wild Cat! Gift and Party, but with a decided leaning to astrological, Wiccan, and similar fantastical worlds. A beauty salon is located in the back (by appointment only) along with a substantial tea section with teas from Magic Hour along with some rather witty mugs for your tea ventures.

Tasty Temptations – Fresh Start’s pastries and mini-breakfast sandwiches got us off to a good start, but we ended up with a lot more sample during the day.

I’ve never had the chance to visit the Main Street Delaware-sponsored Delaware Farmers Market (Worthington and Clintonville’s Farmers Markets, both large in size and closest to our home, are our usual destinations), and the chance to sample new vendors is always welcome. As it turned out, several of our influencer entourage bought food items at several vendors, including Julie’s Jelly Jar and Jams (all the expected flavors plus unique flavors like Buckeye and Mountain Dew) and Twisted Metal BBQ (barbecue sauces, rubs, and sauce-based trail mixes.)

Taken over by the Zuniga Family in 2022, Inspire Nutrition has built up a loyal following for their smoothies that offer up a healthier way to decadence (or at, feeling like you’re being decadent) that come in at far lower calorie counts than your average coffee cafe concoction. A couple of small displays featuring homemade arts and crafts are also available for visitors to peruse while waiting for their smoothie to be made.

One of three local restaurants that offered up, the local branch of J. Gumbo’s has a goal of providing equal opportunity employment and assistance to local disabled individuals and strives to keep money as local as possible. The restaurant’s Cajun-inspired menu is hallmarked by large portion sizes – there was a day I could’ve polished off my entire Red Beans & Rice order, but those days have long passed.

Three places not on the official sponsor list have piqued my interest for future visits. I had thought Coffeeology was only a corner coffee shop, but I discovered there was a lot more inside than just coffee, including a lower level filled with merchandise. It feels something like a non fair-trade version of Columbus’s Global Gallery/World Peaces scrunched up into a single older building. Meanwhile, Ciao Cafe offers up an always pleasing combo of panini sandwiches and Italian gelato. A cup of the latter proved to be a nice treat on a warm summer day. Lastly, The Greater Gouda reminds me of a combo of the North Market’s Black Radish Creamery and the market portion of the now defunct Market Italian Village. If you’re looking for a bundle of gourmet food in Delaware from preserves to sauces and locally roasted coffee, this is probably the first place you should visit.

The (Whis)key To My Heart – I admit, my better half is the more enthusiastic spirits drinker, but with one adult beverage event with an already established favorite (Restoration Brew Worx) and wine being something I like enjoying with my spouse, I opted for the Whiskey/Bourbon tasting event at Opa Grill and Tavern.

Frankly, if you’re going to do something like this, you’d be hard pressed to find someone better to lead it than Genti Koci, owner of Opa Tavern. The Wall of Whiskey behind the bar should be a big hint that a place knows their stuff, and Genti is a true spirits nerd in the best sense. He strikes me as someone who wants you to find that niche in spirits, as opposed to someone who turns his nose at someone saying “eww, how can you drink that regularly?!”

He led the gathered on the story behind each of the four spirits sampled and how you should be sampling spirits in general. Also refreshing was how he wasn’t too concerned about how people individually enjoy their spirits – whether you enjoy a bourbon neat, with a splash of water, or in ice; or if you have a particular brand that’s your go to; Genti made it clear that everyone’s essentially an army of one in this aspect. I think I got more knowledge in this enjoyable session with four different bourbons than I ever gained from a number of different distillery tours beforehand. Also, the folks that signed up for the tasting made for great conversation, which only enhanced the experience.

Random Notes: Signs of new development are scattered throughout downtown, but it was especially notable on the South Block (Sandusky Street between William and Spring Streets.) A new Korean Fried Chicken place (to me, anyway) Mashida was evident as well as a deli (NYC Deli Mart, opened in February.) Two more “opening soon” signs for a Northern Indian restaurant and an Boba Tea/Asian Donut shop in the former Subway Sandwich store were also evident we…At first glance, it seemed like an odd business to participate in this event, but I do want to give a shout out to What The Tux for a really pleasant visit. As one might surmise, this shop is geared towards formal wear rentals and purchases, and had one of the best swag (an actual T-shirt) for Experience Delaware participants. However, it was Marti (owner of the store) who made the last minute decision to drop by a real pleasure, first with how she reassured one of her customers prior with his arrangements and then just the casual chat we had after (P.S. if you’re looking for a bridal gowns or dresses, she might have a pretty good deal for you)…Both Delaware (as the birthplace) and Fremont Ohio (as a longtime residence) have ties to former US President Rutherford B. Hayes. While Fremont may have the more picturesque destination (the Hayes Library and surrounding grove make it a worthy stop if you’re traveling through Northwest Ohio) but the Hayes birthplace marker at a gas station makes Delaware’s stop the far more kitschy one. You could make it a complete tour by visiting the Hayes Statue at the southwest corner of Sandusky and William, then stopping to eat at The Rutherford Cafe, located right next to the gas station and owned by The Greater Gouda folks…A small happy hour/closing ceremony was held at Backstretch Bar and Grill, which features some fancier bar food options on their menu (the Caramel Bacon Burger and Cashew Vegetable Wrap caught my eye) as well as an upstairs bar/event space, where Experience Delaware participants gathered at the end…Lastly, Oasis Face Bar is not really a business (facial skin care) that me or my wife would seek to frequent. But of course, there are plenty of folks who would, including everyone else in the entourage I ended up in. They also had one of the better swag offerings ($20 gift cards) to give to event participants.

Under The Influence – Finally, one fun aspect of these types of events is how you end up putting faces to social media handles. On this day, I was able to meet folks like Jessica (munchybeak) Melanie (ohiogirl.travelingworld), Molly (pack_the_plate), Wing (takowing.eats), Kayla (Ohiocoffeeblog), Abby (daytripscbus), Gus (614_eats), and Dan (ohiofoodie614) for the first time in person, as well as catch up with bloggers I’ve known for awhile like Erin from thespiffycookie and Malini and Karl from lakesandlattes (I hope I didn’t forget anyone!)

The Google Map below details all the businesses I visited during the Experience Delaware Event. Food-Related places are denoted by a Blue Spoon & Spatula symbol, while Home Decor/Arts and Crafts places are denoted with a Green House symbol. All other places visited are denoted by a Yellow Balloons symbol.

Main Street Delaware | Website: https://www.mainstreetdelaware.com | Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mainstreetdelaware | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MainStreetDelaware

Visit Delaware County | Website: https://www.visitdelohio.com | Instagram: visitdelohio | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VisitDelOhio/