The building that housed Parasson’s Italian restaurant for nearly 50 years on Main Street in Akron’s North Hill neighborhood will soon be home to an eatery serving Thai food.

The owners of Lyeh Thai Food, which opened in 2017 on East Tallmadge Avenue and focuses on take-out eats, plan to open a sit-down place in the building at 501 N. Main St. across from Summa St. Thomas Hospital.

“It has lots of parking [56 spaces], it’s close to downtown and the hospital,” Lyeh Thai Food co-owner Rot Sorn said earlier this week.

The Lyeh Thai Food at 160 E. Tallmadge Ave. will remain open.

Her husband, Mehn Hepu, is busy fixing up the North Main Street place, and the couple hope to open the new restaurant by sometime this fall. Sorn hopes to obtain a liquor license.

She said she’s planning on serving a lunch buffet featuring Thai dishes.

The planned new Thai place — as well as the former Parasson’s — are reflections of North Hill’s status as a hub for immigrants.

When the Parasson’s opened in 1967, the North Hill area was full of Italian immigrants.

These days, North Hill is home to a lot of southeast Asian refugees and immigrants.

Members of the Mon ethnic group of Myanmar, Lyeh Thai Food owners Sorn and Hepu came to the United States in 2004.

Like many Mon, they lived in Thailand, which borders Myanmar, before coming to this country. (Most of the recent refugees who have settled in Akron have come from another southeast Asian country, Bhutan, which is tucked between India and China.)

Sorn said it’s too soon to talk about hours of the new restaurant.

Lyeh Thai Food is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. The phone is 234-334-4528.

Parasson's has three locations — in Barberton, Stow and on Waterloo Road in Akron.

Duck Donuts



Duck Donuts, which serves warm, made-to-order doughnuts, is planning to enter the Akron market, opening a location at Summit Mall in Fairlawn next to the front entrance.

Duck Donuts’ made-to-order process features vanilla cake doughnuts. Customers can choose a coating, topping or drizzle.

The chain’s first shop opened in 2006 in Duck, N.C., in the Outer Banks, and the first franchise location opened in 2013.

An opening date for the Summit Mall spot was not available at press time. Construction of the space is ongoing. The franchise owners are Brad and Krista Hobbs.

These days, Duck Donuts has more than 80 locations, including one that the Hobbs opened last year at the Pinecrest shopping center in Orange Village, outside Cleveland. It’s the first Duck Donuts location in Northeast Ohio, and the Fairlawn one will be the second.

The Fairlawn shop will open next to the soon-to-open Hello Bistro, which will offer create-your-own salads.

Like the Hello Bistro, Duck Donuts will have access from the mall's interior, through the food court, as well as exterior access.

Lebanese Festival

This Friday and Saturday is the annual Lebanese Festival at Our Lady of the Cedars Church, 507 S. Cleveland-Massillon Road, in Fairlawn.

Indoor and outdoor seating will be available for the event. Hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. both days.

The menu includes tabbouleh, hummus, stuffed grape leaves, kibbeh, shawarma, falafel, lamb shank, Lebanese coffee, booza (Lebanese ice cream), baklawa (Lebanese baklava) and other Lebanese sweets. Lebanese music and dancing, hookah, kids games, raffles and more will be available. Admission is free; you pay for the food (and hookah, wine and beer and raffles).

Go to olclebanesefestival.com for more information or call the church at 330-666-3598. Look to the the big red, green and white festival signs.

Peachapalooza

The West Side Bakery is having a Peachapalooza this week, featuring treats made with Georgia peaches.

Among the items: peach tiramisu, peach panna cotta, peach shortcakes, peach cheesecake, peach cobbler and peach coffee cake.

The bakery is at 2303 W. Market St. in the Pilgrim Square plaza in West Akron. Call 330-836-4101.

Coming Saturday

Coming up… In this Saturday’s Beacon Journal, I’ll have a piece about the Wadsworth Valley Café’s new dinner service, as well as the owners’ plans for a second venture in downtown Wadsworth.

For now, here’s the dinner hours at the Wadsworth Valley Café: 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and 5 to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Call 330-331-7555.

Send local food news to Katie Byard at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com. You can follow her @KatieByardABJ on Twitter or on Facebook.