by Rosalie Murphy

If you’re a devotee of the Summit Brew Path, the Akron/Summit Convention & Visitors Bureau-created passport to regional breweries, you’ve likely been lured to a few off-the-beaten-path stops.

The team behind that initiative has a new target: Akron’s vintage shops.

New Again Akron is a “retail adventure trail” of 25 “vintage, antique, reclaimed, and cool junk” retailers in Akron, Barberton, Cuyahoga Falls and Fairlawn, creators say.

“Spurring visitation to these wonderfully-eclectic shops was the primary goal of the project, plus they’re just really cool and funky places to visit,” says Gregg Mervis, ASCVB president and CEO.

According to the trail’s creators, longtime West Hill shop Gypsy Grace and the Vintage Goat initiated New Again Akron by reaching out to Heather Roszczyk, the City of Akron’s Innovation & Entrepreneurship Advocate. New Again Akron was coordinated by the ASCVB and funded by The Fund for Our Economic Future. About 350 designed the retro brochure.

To learn more and download a copy of the map, visit www.newagainakron.com.

Read about a few of our favorite vintage shops:

Stagecoach Antiques, which “began 74 years ago in the dining room of Mr. Leo Walter’s mother.” Take note: Stagecoach Antiques will be closing its doors for good on Dec. 29, 2018, at which time its wares will be available online only. Everything in the retail location will be 50 percent off until the store closes.

The Bomb Shelter, where “you might end up purchasing a vintage mobile home or a complete 1950s kitchen”

The Northside Cellar, where two longtime friends started talking about purging their closets and ended up starting a business

Highland Throwbacks, whose owner told us in February 2018 that “The whole scene isn’t quite hip to (vintage fashion) yet, but the idea is bubbling”