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photo by Shane Wynn
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photo by Shane Wynn
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photo by Shane Wynn
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photo by Shane Wynn
Walking down Main Street in downtown Akron, Explore City Tours participants are hit with unexpected facts. “The Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal would have gone through the middle of Main Street,” says Barb Abbott, the tour company’s owner. “That’s a jaw-dropping notion.”
It’s just one of the many surprising tidbits that challenge tourgoers’ understanding of area cities. “It’s astounding as to the layers of history that we have,” Abbott says.
Founded in 2012 as Canton Food Tours, the company later added Wooster tours, relaunching as Explore City Tours this season — and expanding into Akron. Take tours May through November and embark on private excursions year-round. These three-hour walking trips offer a taste of a city through its history, chats with business leaders and three to six chef-selected small plates.
The whirlwind Saturday evening Blu Zone tour ($97) starts with tacos at El Patron Tequileria & Cuisine, a discussion on the tire industry at the Rubber Worker Statue and a visit to the Akron Art Museum. Also stop at the main branch of the Akron-Summit County Public Library, Akronym Brewing, Heera Indian Cuisine, the Green Dragon Inn, the Sojourner Truth Legacy Plaza, the Nightlight theater, the Circle of 5ths and Blu-tique Hotel. Abbott, who has taken 51 food tours nationwide and beyond, loves it when locals learn something new.
“It’s a big magnifying glass where we’re like, Look, this has always been here,” she says. “But now you know more about it, and here’s why it’s so exciting.” //KP
explorecitytours.com
