Community Meal
The couple behind Nomz really go to the source. They only have to walk a few booths over from their Northside Marketplace cafe to get Akron Honey to make honey balsamic dressing for their strawberry goat salad. Combined with basil from Buckeye Fresh in Medina and microgreens from Viego Gardens in Bounce in downtown Akron, the dish shows diners that sometimes what we need to eat fresh is right in our backyard.
“The crucial thing for us — since Ohio has such great farming and agriculture — is to stay in season and use local products that are going to be the freshest, highest quality,” says Kassandra Morrison, who owns and operates Nomz along with Sam Lavictoire.
Although Lavictoire is only 26 years old, he has a decade of food industry experience and learned to appreciate local food while working as a line cook at Mustard Seed Market & Cafe. He always hoped to open his own place, and Morrison heard that people wanted an eatery in the Marketplace, so the duo opened Nomz cafe in a 163-square-foot-booth in late 2018.
With Nomz focusing on local, seasonal food, responsibly made products and accommodating dietary restrictions, the duo knew that they’d use their location amongst a farmers market and 35 other small businesses in the Marketplace to craft one-of-a-kind collaborations for the menu.
“Their products alone can inspire me to go down a certain path,” Lavictoire says.
The kick of Not Yo’ Daddy’s Mexican Hot Sauce’s Ole Chipotle variety spurred him to make an aioli that heats up a chicken breast marinated in Thirsty Dog Brewing Co.’s Citra Dog beer for a punchy sandwich ($9) and to continue the relationship to develop a custom Nomz hot sauce. Brunty Farms makes a to-order nitrate- and antibiotic-free chicken chipotle garlic lime bratwurst for Nomz’s breakfast burrito ($9) using meat raised just a few miles away.
“It comes right off their farm,” says Lavictoire, who also gets eggs from Brunty.
Serving food that close to its roots presents challenges, but the duo is up to face those. Seasonal menus tweak dishes with workarounds like subbing sun-dried tomato aioli for an out-of-season tomato on a turkey club. Extra effort is put into twice weekly pickups from Canton’s Ideal Bakery, but the way its fresh multigrain wheat elevates the popular turkey mostarda ($11) makes all the trips worth it.
“When you grill it up, it’s flaky and crispy. It holds up very well,” says Lavictoire.
Whether it’s the Summit Croissant and cheese sandwich or the Delta, Ohio, hydroponic tomatoes in salads, these honest and simply delicious plates open the door for you to follow in making a commitment to eat local.
“It really helps support the community,” Lavictoire says. “If more people do it, it will make it easier and more accessible.”
21 Furnace St., Suite 404, Akron, 330-203-3422, nomzeatz.com
3 More Local Plates
Deli Ohio - CantonRachel sandwich, Sugar Valley Meats smoked turkey, Amish Guggisberg baby Swiss, house-made slaw, house sourdough and Russian dressing
One Eleven Bistro - Medina Chicken Parmesan, Ohio Gerber chicken, tomato-Parmesan risotto, fried burrata, house-made marinara and crispy basil
24 Karrot Kitchen - Brecksville Buddha bowl, Red Basket Farms kale and spinach, Spice Acres asparagus, Martha’s Farm baby carrots, Huffman Fruit Farm’s apples, Log Cabin Farm herbs, hummus and avocado