CANAL-FULTON, Ohio -- The Barrel Room, a restaurant and wine bar that started in North Canton, has expanded to its second location this month: a historic building at 129 North Canal St., Canal-Fulton.

Before owner Keri Sullivan purchased the building, it had existed as a local restaurant, V-Li’s Thai Cuisine. And before that, the building had many uses -- it was a grocery store, a bar, an ice-cream parlor and more, since being built in 1900.

Sullivan enjoyed the history of the building and decided to purchase it after the owner of V-Li’s retired.

“I just walked in and fell in love with the building,” she said. “It’s got so much more character than the newer buildings.”

For Sullivan, the Canal-Fulton location of The Barrel Room is her latest endeavor in her journey as a restaurateur. She started as a server at The Barrel Room in North Canton (7901 Cleveland Ave.) when it was under different ownership, serving one day a week.

She had her sights set on ownership. Eventually, the previous owner came to her to offer the sale of the business. She bought it in 2014 with partners, then bought out the partners the following year and became the sole owner of the Barrel Room.

Soon, Sullivan wanted to expand once again.

“I just started feeling antsy and wanted to do something else,” she said. “I decided, why not look for a second location?”

The new Barrel Room restaurant officially opened Aug. 16 with a grand opening. The restaurant offers wine and craft beer, and its food menu includes steak, chicken piccata, gumbo and baked fish.

Tacos and housemade guacamole are also on the menu. “I’m a huge taco lover so I wanted to incorporate that,” Sullivan said.

The interior of the Canal-Fulton Barrel Room reflects the building’s story. A door from a past business was fashioned into a serving table. Lights were created out of ropes to reflect the history of horses pulling barges down the nearby canal.

The Barrel Room experienced a setback in June when its basement flooded and Sullivan had to focus on repairs to the utilities. She said the community came together to support her and her fledgling business, bringing towels, food and flashlights to help with the work.

So far, The Barrel Room at Canal-Fulton has settled nicely into its community, Sullivan said. Craft beer sales have been booming at the shop, and the grand opening was well-attended with locals.

"I honestly set out to fill what I thought was something they were missing down there, which was a nice wine bar,” she said.

Sullivan is open to the idea of expanding to even more locations.

“I get stagnant very easily, so it’s not out of the question. I want to get everything down over in Canal before I consider that, but it’s definitely not out of the realm of possibility.”

(Editor’s note: A spelling error in the business owner’s name has been corrected. The owner’s name is Keri Sullivan.)