Best Private Dining Room: Buckets’ 1984

Growing up in Akron, LeBron James often ate meals off of TV trays. Although he’s a legendary NBA superstar, he sometimes still does. Eat off of James’ personal TV trays, donated from his Bath and Los Angeles homes, at the new 1984 private dining room.

Opened in May 2026 at his Buckets restaurant, located at his House Three Thirty community center, the room offers an exclusive opportunity for around 10 guests to dine in an environment where everything is circa 1984 — James’ birth year.

“We wanted to provide an experience you’re not going to find anywhere else around here,” says Jon Erisey, property and construction manager for the LeBron James Family Foundation. “It’s a snapshot in time.”

Guests can interact with the retro entertainment, including a Pac-Man game table, an Atari system and board games like Simon and Trivial Pursuit. You can even control the TV, a boom box and a record player, playing throwback cassettes and vinyl like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”

Walls are completely covered in nostalgic pennants and posters, spanning “Beverly Hills Cop” to “Scarface” — as well as vintage patterns like argyle and denim.

Those who reserve the room for $100, which goes toward the meal, can get exclusive dishes, including Fruity Pebbles cheesecake and rotating varieties of house-made hot pockets — both of which are James throwbacks.

“He loves Fruity Pebbles. … That’s always been his favorite cereal when he was a kid,” says foundation executive director Michele Campbell.

In July, Buckets served sloppy Joe hot pockets ($14.23) — made with ground beef, a sauce featuring ketchup, five-spice powder and more — wrapped in puff pastry and topped with a poblano queso and crispy onions.

“We have a sloppy Joe mix that’s the closest we created to the Manwich recipe,” says Aaron “Bomba” Blank, who is Buckets’ chef, along with Summer Fouse. “It’s a fun way to enjoy a taste of the past.”

Also order from the full Buckets menu of elevated comfort food. Its signature dish is fried chicken ($18.23), marinated in a buttermilk pickle brine and finished with honey dust. It’s served with fries, coleslaw, pickles, mini cornbread muffins, house-made cinnamon honey butter and house-made Buckets spicy ranch sauce. Also enjoy fried pickle chips with dill buttermilk sauce and the build-your-own Grassroots salad, as well as Brussels sprouts coated in a soy ginger glaze and topped with honey dust-tossed fried garlic and sesame seeds. James is a big fan of wings, and there are 10 sauce options for the jumbo wings ($12.23-$22.23), including Thai chili, with a sweet heat glaze, chili and lime, topped with poppy and sesame seeds and scallions and served with house-made blue cheese sauce. Cocktails include Heart of a Lion ($12.23), with Hennessy, Cointreau orange liqueur and lemon juice.

Enjoy mocktails too, like blackberry lemonade.

In July, James dined at Buckets. He got the classic GOAT burger with wings and the 1-pound brown butter chocolate chip cookie sundae, made from his private chef’s recipe. “He said it was very awesome, and we hit it. He said he’s coming back,” says Blank. He gave his seal of approval on the 1984 room too. “I got a thumbs up and a high-five,” Erisey recalls.

Another private dining area, Forever King, is coming in the fall — featuring a wine list and formal dining. 1984 offers comfortable nostalgia that brings together people of all ages.

“Something the foundation’s all about is coming together around food. This room encourages so much conversation, memory sharing with people, grandparents or parents that were here in 1984 with younger children,” Campbell says. “That’s really important.”

Reservations recommended, 532 W. Market St., Akron, 330-217-9932, buckets330.com

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