Rany Arehart, Tim "Ripper" Owens, and Don Jamieson

Rany "Hart" Arehart, Tim "Ripper" Owens, and Don Jamieson

By Nicholas Saddleton

The Tap House on Waterloo is rapidly becoming Akron’s best place for great food, good drinks and a touch of celebrity.  The atmosphere is casual with sports on the flat screens and rock music playing in the background.  Sit at the bar and enjoy one of the 36 draft beers or take the family and sit in the adjacent dining room.  The servers and bartenders are always friendly, bringing their own personality to the job.  Talk to the manager, Jamie Bartus, and he will never forget you.  Service is clearly the #1 priority of the staff of 26.  At The Tap House, the answer is always “Yes!  What’s the question?”

But the thing that keeps bringing people through the doors is the food.  The wonderful food.  The hamburgers and wings are killer.  Monday features ½ lb burgers and fries (try them with gravy) for $5.99 and Tuesday has 40 cent wings.  Buzzbin Mike says have the Cajun wings.  Thursdays is another popular night with $3 gyros and fries.  The pizzas are great as well.  It’s clear that the kitchen staff take pride in what they make.
It was in December 2007 that owner Randy Arehart first opened the doors of the Tap House; then under a different name.  Randy, a Mogadore guy, had been going to the bars here for years and loved that you could watch sports and eat and drink without threat of getting into a fight.  As he puts it, “It’s a place you’d bring your prom date to.”

At first, Randy was skeptical of taking on the project.  Also skeptical was his friend, a local health inspector, who was horrified with what they found during an unofficial walk through.  For six months Randy and a small team, including kitchen manager John Chambers, did a top to bottom remodel.  The results are clear; a “Rock’n’Roll Sports Club” that’s clean, is fun to hang out at and has great food always made from scratch.
Randy’s own story is an interesting one.  During the ‘80s he was rocker, playing in many local original and cover bands and rubbing elbows with the likes of Jani Lane, Michael Stanley, Billy Morris and Tim “Ripper” Owens.  As part of the band, The Mob, he toured with Richard Marx and REO Speedwagon.  The band played Huey Lewis-like pop/ rock and eventually shot a music video with Oliver Stone for the song “Why?”.  Unfortunately, the band was a flop and Randy returned to Akron.

It was the late ‘80s and a musician could make a living playing music five nights a week.  Then everything began to change.  The drinking age was raised driving away demand for nightly bands.  Clubs went to house sound and bands could no longer charge for use of their own sound equipment.  The money began drying up.

The last straw was when Randy’s mother was diagnosed with cancer.  He had an epiphany and cut his waist-length mullet the next day.
After a stint in hospitality at the Ocean Sands Resort, Randy became a manager at a chain restaurant.  He soon moved to a warehouse restaurant in downtown Akron and spent 14 successful years there; eventually becoming the chain’s Director for Kitchen Standards.  There he won “Manager of the Year” five times.  It’s there that Randy’s obsession with food quality and cleanliness bloomed.

And The Tap House has continued to grow over the last two plus years.  They have found success with bands on Saturday nights and Randy recently expanded the musical selection from cover bands to original country and rock acts.  Tim “Ripper” Owens and guitarist Scott Jones are the de facto house band, playing twice a month since December.  Tim and Don Jamieson from VH1’s “That Metal Show” even did a comedy routine there March 26th to a packed house.

The Tap House caters daily, too; supplying meals to many of the Akron U and Kent State sports teams, including the football, volleyball, soccer, basketball and field hockey programs.

All in all, The Tap House is a “can’t miss” destination.  It’s got it all- top quality food at reasonable prices, a wide selection of drinks, friendly people both sides of the bar and great entertainment.  And Ripper.  Be there!

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