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Lil' Bit Cafe Celebrates Opening on Kenmore Boulevard

Lil' Bit Cafe celebrates its grand opening on Kenmore Blvd. Wednesday.
TINA BOYES
/
KENMORE NEIGHBORHOOD ALLIANCE
Lil' Bit Cafe celebrates its grand opening on Kenmore Blvd. Wednesday.

A new cafe is fulfilling a part of the Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance’s plan to add more food-related businesses to Kenmore Boulevard.

Lil' Bit Cafe workers and Akron city officials cut the ribbon during the restaurant's grand open ceremony Wednesday. From left to right are chef Micah Townsend, cafe owner Todd Ederer, Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan, Councilman Mike Freeman, and chef Jennifer Herrick.
Credit TINA BOYES / KENMORE NEIGHBORHOOD ALLIANCE
/
KENMORE NEIGHBORHOOD ALLIANCE
Lil' Bit Cafe workers and Akron city officials cut the ribbon during the restaurant's grand open ceremony Wednesday. From left to right are chef Micah Townsend, cafe owner Todd Ederer, Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan, Councilman Mike Freeman, and chef Jennifer Herrick.

Lil' Bit Cafe hosted a grand opening Wednesday. Not only does it meet a growing demand for more sit-down restaurants in that area, it also increases job opportunities. The restaurant is partnering with the culinary training program called Jump On Board For Success. JOBS will train teen and young mothers for possible employment at the restaurant.

The Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance received a two-year $150,000 grantfrom the CareSource Foundation to fund the JOBS training program and provide wage subsidies to encourage local restaurants to hire JOBS graduates.

Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance Director Tina Boyes said the cafe is part of her organization’s vision.

“Having a new restaurant move into the neighborhood like Kenmore is really a signal to the neighborhood that things are starting to change," Boyes said. "Investment begets investment so we are excited to see a place like this open, and we can’t wait to see what it attracts after this.”

A coffee shop on Kenmore Boulevard is expected to open this spring.

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Tanisha Thomas is majoring in journalism at Kent State University where she will be graduating this year in May. During her time at Kent State, she has written for The Burr Magazine and Uhuru Magazine, and produced and anchored for TV2. She is currently the Editor-in-Chief of Uhuru Magazine. In her down time, she enjoys playing Sims, discussing pop culture or curling up with her dog Lucky.