Here's a slice of food news in Cuyahoga Falls.

Lucci's Place, a small family-owned pizza shop that has gained a loyal following in its nearly four years, has spun off a second location.

It offers delivery and pickup only from a small space at 2457 State Road that housed an Uzbek eatery, and before that a Mama Rosa's. It's in a small strip called Rosa's Plaza next to Dominic’s Pub.

Lucci's prides itself on fresh homemade pizza, with the crusts made as the pies are ordered.

"I can't guarantee the pizza will be round, but I can guarantee it will be good," Jon Finley said wryly. "Sometimes the dough stretches out."

He runs the shop and is often a one-man-band there, tossing the dough, ladling on the sauce and adding the toppings.

Lucci's serves New York style pizza, with a thin crust that is crispy as well as a little chewy, depending on where you take a bite.

Area music fans know Finley, 42, from his other gig as a singer-guitarist. These days, he's with a band called Eye, based in Columbus. He's a former drummer for the Kent band Party of Helicopters and the short-lived Drummer formed by the Black Keys' Patrick Carney. (Full disclosure: I'm Patrick's stepmom. He and I don't get free pizza from Finley.)

He describes Eye's sound as "like Deep Purple-classic psych rock." These days, because he's been busy with the pizza shop, he's had to cut back on running to Columbus for rehearsals.

Business has been OK at the Falls place, he said; word is still getting out. It's not as busy as the Kent location, which also is delivery and pickup only. A dream is to get seating in Kent, though the current location is too small.

The menu is simple, with daily specials and several specialty pies, including Jodi's Favorite with white sauce, spinach and tomato (an 18-inch large pie is $16; a 14-inch medium is $12.50 and a 10-inch small is $8); and Pesto Chicken Tomato ($18 large, $14 medium, $9 small). The Meat Lovers features pepperoni, sausage, bacon, ham and meatball ($20 large, $16 medium, $10.50 small).

A large cheese pizza runs $12 with toppings $2 each. A medium is $9, toppings $1.75; and a small is $6, toppings $1.25. Toppings include heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and feta cheese. The menu also includes other pizza-shop fare, such as stromboli, salad and breadsticks.

Finley owns the Falls and Kent shops with his brother Peter and father, William.

It was William who suggested Jon and Peter open a restaurant. The two had worked for years at Guido's Pizza in Kent so a pizza shop seemed like a natural fit. The Kent location, at 405 Main St., will mark four years in June.

The Falls location is open from 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday (closed Mondays). Phone is 234-571-0053. The Kent shop stays open later and is open seven days a week. Lucci's Place is on Facebook.

More to come



Chop & Swizzle in Green is closing Saturday, but its owner says the eatery/cocktail bar will rise again.

Owner Dick Kanatzar, aka "Chef Dick," says in a video on the restaurant's Facebook page that "this isn't the end of Chop & Swizzle by any means."

He says in the video that the space will be taken over by Eric and Claudia Griffin, who plan to offer pizza made in a wood-fired oven, among other eats. Chop & Swizzle is behind Menches Brothers in the Shops of Green at 3700 Massillon Road.

The Griffins sold longtime Portage Lakes haunt Howie's on the Lake last year; it is now Dano's Lakeside Pub. Kanatzar operated the kitchen at Howie's for a time.

In the video, Kanatzar says he's looking for a new place for Chop & Swizzle and asks for suggestions. After taking the month of April off, he'll be available for catering and cook at pop-up events. Look for Chef Dick Kanatzar on Facebook.

Kanatzar opened Chop & Swizzle in Green in January 2017. Originally, it was a craft cocktail bar with some adventurous dishes. Kanatzar closed the Green spot that year and then reopened it in October, putting more emphasis on the food. Kanatzar also formerly operated a Chop & Swizzle cocktail bar in in Akron's West Hill neighborhood.

The phone for the Chop & Swizzle in Green is 330-563-4840.

Tasty event



The second "Pest to Pesto” event, featuring dishes made with garlic mustard, will run the week of April 29 at D’Agnese’s, the Italian restaurant at 566 White Pond Drive in Akron.

Garlic mustard is an invasive, edible weed. D'Agnese's will show off its tasty side, using it in various dishes to raise funds for the Yellow Creek Foundation, which is pushing for the creation of the Yellow Creek Watershed Conservancy District.

The first Pest to Pesto was in 2017 at Vaccaro's Trattoria. We'll have more information later on this year's dinner.

Also at D'Agnese's, a multicourse wine dinner will be held at 6 p.m. March 27. Cost is $70. Reservations are recommended. Call 234-678-3612 to reserve for either dinner.

Hearty breakfast



The Summit County Farm Bureau draws hundreds every year to its Farmer's Share Breakfast.

The 11th annual event will run from 8 to 11 a.m. Saturday at Copley High School, 3807 Ridgewood Road, Copley. The breakfast — pancakes with maple syrup, sausage, scrambled eggs, coffee and milk — costs only $1, which represents the average portion the farmer receives for producing the food for the breakfast.

Donations will be accepted and all proceeds will be given to the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank. Families are welcome.

The event will include seminars and 4-H group displays and other exhibits. Bring a canned food item for the Salvation Army of Summit County and get a raffle ticket to win a year's worth of Smith's Dairy ice cream.

Temporary closing



The Lemongrass Grill Thai Restaurant & Bar in Munroe Falls is closed until April 1 due to an illness in the family.

Lemongrass, at 20 N. Main St. (state Route 91), is owned by Meng Pung and his wife, Eileen.

Butch Berkley, the owner of the building in which the restaurant is housed, said the temporary closing has been posted on the door.

Small bites

• Papa Joe's, 1561 Akron-Peninsula Road, in the Merriman Valley, will host Rocky Ruggiero for a traditional Italian dinner with wine and a talk on Renaissance Easter at 7 p.m. March 28. Ruggiero, an expert on the Italian Renaissance, has appeared on PBS and the History Channel. Cost is $75. Call 330-923-7999 to reserve.

• The spring Cleveland Restaurant Week continues through March 30. Nearly all of the participating restaurants will offer $33 prix fixe menus. They are part of the Cleveland Independents group, which includes restaurants around the region. Check out menus and make reservations at www.clevelandrestaurantweek.com.

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.