City life, small town feel

If you’re looking for a new place to live in Akron, try downtown where there are an abundance of places to eat, hang out and lots to do. For Sarah Thomarios, the activity downtown is one of the reasons she loves her home at Canal Square. After living in Florida for about 20 years, she returned home to work for the family business just a couple of years ago.

From grabbing a bite to eat at one of the many restaurants to catching a concert at Lock 3 right from her window, downtown has a lot to offer a young thriving professional like Thomarios.

What drew you to downtown?

There’s a lot going on down there. I like to hike and the trails are close to home. In the evenings, it’s easy to get to a bar because it’s right down the street. There are also a lot of good restaurants to check out.

The best thing about living downtown is that it’s centrally located. If I wanted to go to Cuyahoga Falls it’s about 10 minutes away or Fairlawn is 15 minutes away. We can also go down to Green and that’s also about 15 minutes away.

Can you describe your apartment for us?

I live in a studio apartment on the lower level. It’s an open layout. My living room overlooks Lock 3 and if I open my window when there’s a concert, I can hear the whole thing. I also have a small balcony that’s in the front of the building, so I get some outside space.

What are a few of your favorite spots?

I like to go to DBA and Bricco a lot because it’s an easy walk. I go to DBA for their mussels, and Bricco has the best appetizers. BLU Jazz+ is really cool. It has live music and is a chill, cool place compared to everywhere else because it’s brand new and has a fresh feeling. I also like to go to the baseball games across the street.

Would you recommend moving downtown to others?

I would! It feels like a big city, but you’re in a small town. Everyone knows each other but it’s a big city feeling so you really get the best of both worlds.