TIFFIN, Ohio — Business owners in Tiffin are fulfilling multiple local needs with a restaurant that opened in March: feeding locals breakfast and lunch and preserving area history.
Dave Spridgeon has lived in the Tiffin area for about 7 years. After opening another successful business, the Tiffin Renaissance, purchasing Tiffin mainstay Jolly's Drive-in, and operating a successful food truck, the entrepreneur was ready for another project.
So, he decided to fill open a sandwich shop in downtown Tiffin: The Deli Cafe at Frost Village.
"It was all based on a New York-style deli," Spridgeon said. "There are two-fisted sandwiches, pounds of salad and cold salads. We've got gluten-free and we've got vegan. Our bread is specially cut for us out of the Detroit Bread company."
In only a few weeks of operation, it's become a popular breakfast and lunch stop for dining inside or outside.
If you don't have the appetite for a full meal, you can always pick up some bread, deli meat and more products made by other Tiffin businesses.
Along with the new restaurant, they are also bringing new life to a historic location. It was originally built as a church in 1913 before it was washed away after only one service during a flood and reopened later that year.
"It's nice to see someone who takes the old building with the old architecture, the beautiful windows, the high ceilings and just brings back its beauty and uses it in a different way." Downtown Tiffin Main Street Manager Donna Gross said.
Spridgeon said repurposing the old building seemed like the right thing to do.
"I don't know that our role as business people is to disturb the history of the town. And this is a very historic downtown," he said. "So, why build something new when you have this beautiful structure that we can just redo."
Spridgeon said the culture of downtown Tiffin helps local businesses succeed.
"Everybody seems to want to work together, they've got a common goal," he said. "We've got great leadership in government, we've got great leadership through the Tiffin-Seneca Economic Partnership. And everybody just seems to have the same goal and we just drive together to get to that."
The Deli Cafe at Frost Village is currently open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., with plans to stay open on Fridays and Saturdays until 7 p.m.