ASHTABULA, Ohio – Paddling through ripples on the Ashtabula River, it occurred to me: Not too long ago, this would not have been possible.
The river was too dirty, the port too tough. And certainly, no one was renting tandem kayaks for $40 an hour to visiting tourists.
Fast forward to 2022, and this waterfront destination, where the Ashtabula River meets Lake Erie, has become one of Northeast Ohio’s most unexpected tourism success stories, with trendy restaurants, upscale retail, and a boutique hotel on the way.
It didn’t happen by accident.
More than a decade ago, a group of local business and community leaders got together to brainstorm ways to reinvent Ashtabula’s waterfront, which once was one of the busiest industrial ports in the Great Lakes. Industry had mostly pulled out of the small town, leaving a polluted river and blocks of vacant storefronts.
“It was nothing but bars and buildings that weren’t being used,” said Brandon Hart, who started Harbor Yak boat rentals on the river in 2017. “No one really spent time here. It took a couple of good restaurants to open, then some shops and more restaurants. Now there’s not really any place that’s not being used.”
Among the occupants: brewery, coffee house, ice cream shop and speakeasy. There are shops selling art and kitchenware, gourmet popcorn and chocolate. There’s even a restaurant that only serves fried chicken sandwiches (and they’re fantastic).
And the river? Last year, after decades of clean-up efforts, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency removed the Ashtabula River from its list of most polluted Great Lakes tributaries (the EPA’s so-called “areas of concern”).
“It has been an extraordinary success,” said Toni Carlisle, of the community effort to turn around the harbor district and make it into a tourist draw.
She and her husband, Ren Carlisle, were among the early adopters, opening Carlisle’s Home in the Harbor gift shop on Bridge Street in 2002, hoping to spark more development. And it worked.
“Over the years, we’ve shifted from serving locals to serving out of towners,” she said.
It was all rather surprising – to me, anyway.
I’d been through Ashtabula numerous times before – en route to wineries in the area, touring the county’s numerous covered bridges and overnighting at the nearby Lodge at Geneva-on-the-Lake. But I’d never stopped to really look around, not until earlier this month, when I spent a full day eating‚ drinking and paddling my way through what has evolved into one of the region’s most unique destinations.
The unlikely center of it all: a nearly century old lift bridge, which pivots open every 30 minutes to allow boat traffic through, a popular photo op for visitors.
Ashtabula City Manager Jim Timonere admitted that locals and visitors have vastly different perspectives of the bridge, built in 1925 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
“We know to avoid Bridge Street every half hour,” he said, in an effort to steer clear of the inevitable traffic tie-ups. “It’s something we take for granted.”
Easy day trip from Cleveland
About 60 miles east of Cleveland, Ashtabula is an easy day trip for Northeast Ohioans. Spend the night, however, and you’ll have enough time to check out a couple of history-focused small museums in the neighborhood, sign up for a fishing charter, stroll barefoot through the sand at Walnut Beach and rent water bikes at Harbor Yak. There are even ghost tours on select Friday evenings.
I was traveling on a Sunday and Monday, when several of the restaurants I wanted to try were closed or had reduced hours. Rest assured, I didn’t leave hungry, eating well at Rennick Meat Market, which opened in 2014 in the town’s historic butcher shop, and Briquettes Smokehouse, with piled-high plates of barbecue served on a large patio overlooking the water. Lunch was terrific at both Fire! Chicken Sandwiches and Blended Smoothies and Ice Cream.
And beverages? I started the day at Harbor Perk, ended it at the 1035 Club speakeasy and enjoyed Cloven Hoof Brewing in between, with a flight of house-made brews, including a terrific IPA, coffee stout and something called Banana Baptism, which was much better than it sounds.
Before and after all that eating and drinking, I browsed the shelves at Bridge Street Art Works, filled with ceramics, jewelry and other creatives wares, mostly by local artists; wandered through the many temptations of Marianne’s Chocolates, founded in Conneaut in 1963 and a Bridge Street staple since 2009; and chatted with the newest proprietor on the block, Gallo, who opened Harbor Gardens earlier this year, specializing in locally grown and Ohio-made food products, food demonstrations, classes and more.
Source: https://www.cleveland.com/travel/2022/08/from-industrial-powerhouse-to-tourist-draw-24-hours-in-ashtabulas-fun-funky-bridge-street-district.html?utm_campaign=clevelanddotcom_sf&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR3YlyotXjqlRpyLX8PropqNWWy5gZhN-LF2h0sRt-JIDg6N-8TYCfp4V9k