Representative Tina Boyes: Kenmore Area Favorites

Ward 9 council representative for the city of Akron Tina Boyes is close with her Kenmore neighbors — so much so that the 52-year-old often hangs out with them.

“Every Memorial Day, the volleyball net comes out, and the neighbors across the street bring egg rolls, they’re Laotian, and we’ve got folks down the street that always bring the barbecue,” Boyes says. “Our kids have grown up together.”

A fifth-generation Kenmore resident, Boyes’ family owned Brode Dry Cleaning Company on Kenmore Boulevard.

“I know the reputation has been such, This is a place people want to leave, but it’s becoming a place people want to be,” she says.

In 2015, Boyes relocated to Kenmore from Wadsworth with her husband, Ryan, and two kids, Naomi and Drew. A few years later, as a participant in Leadership Akron, she toured North Hill and the Exchange House — and got the idea for a Kenmore Better Block. She then joined the Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance as a board member, building local support for existing assets like recording studios, guitar shops and more.

“I was the block captain of the Kenmore Better Block, and we had 5,000 people down here on a weekend in September, when no one thought anyone would come here. And I really knew that this was a place that was for people like me,” Boyes says, of a two-day pop-up business event. “That’s what keeps me here.”

Boyes became executive director of Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance, now known as Better Kenmore Community Development Corporation. Her father had been the Ward 9 council representative for a decade — and before him, her grandfather. She was elected to Akron City Council in 2023. Representing her neighborhood is rewarding.

“This community still is a place where people want to know their neighbors,” she says. “People invest in the community however they can.”

The Rialto Theatre

The Rialto was originally a movie theater in Kenmore in the early 1900s — so owners Seth and Nate Vaill paid tribute to that history by naming the now-performing arts venue the Rialto Theatre. “Harry Coulter Williams, who is the inventor of the silver screen … he was a Kenmore resident, and one of his first screens was installed at Rialto Theatre,” Boyes says. See concerts, hear poetry readings and attend swing dancing events at the venue, which boasts a bar “living room” area and a unique stage. The theater is also home to a recording studio — once used by Raekwon from Wu-Tang Clan, on recommendation from a Kenmore resident who was part of the Keepers of the Art. “He called me, and said, Can we get him into the Rialto? We did within an hour, and I spent two and a half hours with Raekwon,” Boyes says.

1000 Kenmore Blvd., Akron

Finny’s on the Towpath

Located along the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail, Finny’s on the Towpath is a comfortable sports bar with a patio, serving classic eats such as barbecue pork belly bites and loaded nachos — as well as breakfast options such as pancakes, eggs and deep-fried biscuits. Boyes is a member of the Kenmore Running Club, which has held meetups there. “Finny’s is a great venue … for folks who are maybe biking or riding down the Towpath,” Boyes says. “Great place to watch games.”

2759 Manchester Road, Akron

ShowCase Meats

This market outgrew its first Kenmore neighborhood location. “The line’s out the door. They’re a meat market, but they also have pre-made foods, and their chicken … is the best in Northeast Ohio, hands down,” Boyes says. Inside ShowCase Meats’ busy market, find spices, sauces, cheeses and more alongside fresh pasta salads, pizza, baked goods and, of course, premium cuts of meat like filet mignon and prime rib roast. Boyes grew up with it. “That truly is a Kenmore staple, and it’s so nice to see the next generation of that family continuing the business,” she says. “They are a destination.”

2355 Manchester Road, Akron

Srina Tea House & Cafe

The tea at Srina Tea House & Cafe is harvested in Sri Lanka by workers at Paradise Farm. Sip fragrant, rose-hued elderberry tea while you take in a mural depicting a mangrove field at the cafe founded by Monaqui Porter Young. Snack on bagels, spreads and more. “There are some delicious teas that require absolutely no sweetening … that I think communities like ours just haven’t had access to,” Boyes notes. “She could have chose anywhere, she’s a New Yorker, but she chose to do it right here. … I harken it to a love letter back to her family and her hometown. She wants to see them healthy. She wants to see them in the neighborhood employed. It’s just a really great model.”

975 Kenmore Blvd., Akron