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Owner says restaurant has two personalities
By Lisa Abraham
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Wednesday, Aug 06, 2008
Put yourself in this scenario.
You're a truck driver. Your life is hauling a big rig across country. You love it and you're earning a good living doing it.
Then, at 31, everything changes.
An accident leaves you badly injured, paralyzed from the waist down and in a wheelchair. Your marriage falls apart, and you can't drive a truck anymore.
What do you do?
Sit at home? Live a life on disability?
Buy a restaurant?
That's exactly what Shawn Pouliot did.
Five years after his 2001 accident, Pouliot decided that even though he had to live his life sitting down, he wasn't about to take it sitting down.
He and his brother Mark purchased the former Luna's Restaurant at 610 E. Cuyahoga Falls Ave. in Akron's North Hill in June 2006. They've spent the past two years and about $300,000 renovating the building, and turning one of the familiar haunts from their old neighborhood into the Riverside Kitchen & Tavern, which is part casual family restaurant and part sports bar, with big-screen televisions, a covered patio and two outdoor stages for live music.
When Pouliot was growing up in North Hill, the spot was a Country Kitchen. He said he didn't think Luna's was as good as it could be for the neighborhood, so he made the owners an offer.
''I've been coming here all of my life. I felt this restaurant wasn't being used to its full potential,'' he said.
Under the best of circumstances, it's difficult to survive in the restaurant business. But Pouliot, who lives in Tallmadge, refused to let his lack of experience, his disability or family members' concerns stop him.
''My parents and family still think I'm nuts for doing it. But I think they all see that it's all making sense now,'' he said.
Pouliot has managed to stay afloat, although he has quickly learned the aggravation of hiring reliable employees and knows he has to improve his service. ''We're a work in progress,'' he said.
But Pouliot said sales have tripled since he took over, due in part to his obtaining a liquor license and adding a bar and music patio to what had been a simple family restaurant.
He said the ''two personalities'' of Riverside have proven a successful combination.
The longtime customers who come in for breakfast and lunch have found the restaurant remodeled and the menu revamped, but the atmosphere is still virtually the same — a neighborhood spot to stop at for a reasonably priced meal. He's filled the walls with Akron memorabilia. A toy train circles overhead in the entryway and a giant toy airplane is suspended from the ceiling, to make the place fun and family-friendly.
New customers are coming for the bar, patio and music. He said the mayor and members of City Council have stopped in after meetings on Monday nights. On Tuesday, there's an old car drive-in, and Wednesday is bike night.
He schedules live music on Friday and Saturday, and the same Sunday morning breakfast crowd that's been coming for years can still find pancakes and eggs.
On Sept. 5, the Riverside is hosting a benefit for the family of slain Twinsburg police officer Joshua Miktarian and is selling $25 raffle tickets for a chance to win a 2008 Honda Gold Wing three-wheel motorcycle.
As he zips through the restaurant in his motorized wheelchair, Pouliot is happy that the place he created attracts a wide range of customers.
And happier still with the new life he's created for himself.
Now remarried, together Pouliot and his wife have five children between the ages of 7 and 12. He envisions their kids working at the restaurant in high school and college, busing tables and washing dishes.
''It's not about the money. I wanted my kids to know that you could have something knock you down, no matter how bad it is, but be able to get back up in life.
''No matter how bad you are, you are still worth something to society. You can still contribute.''
Lisa A. Abraham can be reached at 330-996-3737 or labraham@thebeaconjournal.com.
Put yourself in this scenario.
Get the full article here.
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