Businesses Coming to Acorn Alley II Announced

Developer Ron Burbick said Wednesday that retail space in the second phase of his successful Acorn Alley downtown development is “100 percent sold out” and that he has serious buyers lined up for most of the second-floor luxury condominiums being built.

Burbick shared details of Acorn Alley II’s progress with alumni of Leadership Portage County who had gathered at The Tannery. The communications business, operated in partnership with Kent State University, is located on the second floor of the original Acorn Alley.

Outside, construction workers had just finished a day that included erecting steel framing for Acorn Alley II on Erie Street. The new structure is being built parallel to Main Street, but perpendicular to the existing Acorn Alley.

Burbick said the new project is one large structure designed as three different buildings, each with its own character, "like the rest of Kent looks.” Tying the two Acorn Alley phases together will be Acorn Plaza, an outdoor space for gathering, dining and entertainment.

The project’s sold-out first floor is all retail and restaurant space, while the second story will feature seven to nine luxury condos ranging in size from 1,000 to 1,800 square feet. Burbick said he has five potential buyers showing “strong interest” in the high-end units, which will include balconies overlooking Acorn Plaza.

“Of the five, three of them are people starting new businesses here – kind of like the old days when people lived above their shops,” he said.

Burbick revealed to the crowd his retail line-up for Acorn Alley II:

• Laziza, a  restaurant of about 3,500 square feet that will feature Mediterranean food, as well as steaks and seafood. Burbick said the owners originally requested space to accommodate about 100 seats, but recently increased that number to 120 seats. “I have already put an addition on a building not even built,” Burbick said with a laugh.
• Zoupwerks-Kent, which Burbick said is “a funky soup and chowdah joint” that will occupy about 1,200 square feet. He has sampled the Champion-based restaurant’s cuisine on several occasions and said Kent diners can look forward to “the best fresh lobster bisque, made every morning.”
• Tree City Coffee and Pastry will occupy about 2,500 square feet and feature a drive-through window.
• Wild Earth Outfitters will be selling a wide variety of apparel, equipment and accessories for outdoor enthusiasts of all kinds in a store measuring 3,500 to 4,000 square feet.
• Popped! – a gourmet popcorn shop – will occupy a 600- to 700-square-foot space that includes a walk-up sales window. An array of flavored popcorns will be made using all natural, local ingredients. Some vegan, dairy-free and gluten-free popcorn products will be among the shop's offerings.
• Acorn Alley Gifts and Novelties, a store owned by Burbick, will sell Kent-related items – from T-shirts, to reproductions of old Kent maps and nearly every book ever written about the city. The store will measure about 500 to 600 square feet.
• An ethnic restaurant “that will fit in very well in Kent,” said Burbick, will occupy about 4,000 square feet. He expects to announce that restaurant’s name within the next week or two.
• Another business that is not yet named will be a collaboration between a department at Kent State University and the Burbick Foundation. It will be located in a storefront of about 800 square feet.
•  The Kent Area Chamber of Commerce will relocate from its current Acorn Alley office to a “prime location” fronting on Acorn Plaza, said Burbick. The office will measure between 500 and 600 square feet.
• Acorn Plaza will occupy about 2,500 to 3,000 square feet and will feature a raised garden created around a black metal sculpture – “squirrel with an attitude,” Burbick called it – that he commissioned a welder/artist in New Hampshire to create. The sculpture was on display Wednesday on Main Street. Burbick said the plaza will be completely wired for sound and include a portable stage for use by entertainers. Plaza space will be rented to small entrepreneurs who would like to occasionally set up kiosks or carts. Burbick said he will promote a weekly “speakers’ corner,” similar to the noted one at Hyde Park in London, England.

Burbick said that while his original goal was to have all of Acorn Alley II completed in time for Kent's signature festival, Heritage Fest, on July 2, bad winter weather caused some construction delays.

“It’s going up pretty quickly … we hope to have a couple shops open by Heritage Fest and hope to have the whole complex open in late July or mid-August,” he said.