Name Your Specialty at West Point Market
Cheeses like Vlaskaas and Old Amsterdam and scores of others—samples included—await West Point Market customers as they enter the door of the iconic local specialty food store. Specialty, in fact, has defined the market since its 1936 beginning, says owner Rick Vernon.
Vernon’s grandfather, Harold Vernon, along with partners John Tyler Seiler and Harry Anderson, first opened the business at the point where Market Street and Merriman Road meet—a location now occupied by Amer’s West Hill Marathon gas station—inspiring the store’s original name, Point Market.
Back in its early days, Point Market catered to Goodyear, Goodrich, Firestone and other rubber company executives. “Customers would call in orders; they did a lot of deliveries,” says Vernon, referring to the market’s owners who met customers at their doors with select meat, produce, eggs, wine and specialty items.
The bustling business soon outgrew its tiny tract and moved to a roomier Market Street spot in the Wallhaven neighborhood. The jaunt westward prompted the partners to add “West” to the store’s Point Market name.
Vernon began working at the market in 1978 when he was a student at Firestone High School. The University of Akron alumnus continued his career at the store, learning the ins and outs of its every department. “My favorites were specialty foods and imported and domestic artisanal foods. It was just so interesting to me,” he says, describing the excitement of following new food trends, interacting with customers and attending food shows in New York City and San Francisco as a young starter in the business.
When his dad retired in 2005, Vernon took over the market along with a partner who managed the business’s finances and accounting. They remained at Wallhaven for the next 10-plus years until the store reopened at its new Fairlawn location—33 Shiawassee Ave.—in December 2016.
“ It took about six months to find the right location, the right size, which is about half of our old store, nice parking and right off Market Street in the heart of Fairlawn,” Vernon says.
Rolling out in phases since its initial move, the market offers cheese, deli and specialty food departments; a bakery packed with freshly made favorites like lemon bars, iced thumbprint cookies, chocolate sour cream cake and its legendary Killer Brownies; homemade soups such as sherry mushroom and white chili; a curated wine collection and wine bar where customers can order wine by the glass and local craft beers on tap; plus a newly opened café.
In the cafe, one popular item is the dome-shaped diva cake—a decadent combination of chocolate mousse, ganache, fondant and Godiva ® chocolate—which drives home the West Point Market’s draw for customers. It’s all about specialty.