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photo by Talia Hodge
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photo by Talia Hodge
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photo by Talia Hodge
Crafty Steere opened just last year, but the artisanal food market is on a mission to bring back the past.
Located in the former Pandora’s Cupcakes shop, the Akron store sells local foods, as well as Pandora’s treats (flavors include peanut butter banana and salted caramel) and West Point Market mainstays — fare from the now-defunct Akron specialty food store that still boasts a dedicated following.
“Former customers,” says owner and founder Brian Steere, “I’ll have long conversations with them about how much they miss it.”
In 2022, former West Point owner Rick Vernon showed Steere binders of the market’s original recipes, permitting him to re-create its famous cheese spreads in flavors such as South of The Border, Raz-Ma-Taz and Our Bar.
“It’s a creamy cheddar spread with a horseradish kick,” Steere says of the latter. “It has a nice finish.”
After hiring a former West Point employee, he expanded Crafty Steere’s offerings. Now, it sells items such as West Point’s tuna salad, cookies and beloved triple-layer brownies — savor varieties such as fluffernutter, blondie and bourbon pecan. Customers often ask for revivals of their favorites — leading to additions like West Point’s chicken and ambrosia salads. Through Crafty Steere, customers can taste nostalgia.
“I remember … tagging along with [my mom] to go to West Point,” Steere says. “Any kid who went in there could … get a free cookie. … That’s probably my fondest memory.”
3571 Brookwall Drive, Akron, 330-665-2253, craftysteere.com
