South Summit Chamber of Commerce held their 104th annual awards dinner April 17 at Anthes Restaurant in Akron.

Among the honorees were The Harbor Inn, Tomaso’s Italian Villa, Sherri Sanchez and Thomas Harnden.

The Harbor Inn was awarded Business of the Year
Though they have been under new ownership for one year, the restaurant has been in business for 50 years. Owner Stephen Burroughs said a comment was made during the presentation regarding his renovations. He said they praised him for investing a lot into improving the restaurant. Burroughs said the building is old but it is unique and he has not changed much but made a few improvements.  Patrons can have a variety of different experiences at The Harbor Inn depending on what they are looking for. There is a dining area in the seafood restaurant with a more formal-style to it. Upstairs, the loft is available for small dinner parties and can accommodate up to 60 people.

Downstairs, where the old night club was has been remodled to have a pub feel to it.

There is still a bar, as there are in all areas of the Harbor Inn. The menu in the lounge area  is lighter than the upstairs restaurant but is still high quality. There is also a beach style bar area that serves the outside patrons who can enjoy tables on the deck overlooking the lake.

Burroughs attributed the lake to what makes his business stand out.

“People can come sit by the water when the weather is nice and enjoy the lake,”Burroughs said.

All areas of the restaurant have a view of the lake so no matter what style of dining one is looking for, everyone can enjoy the harbor view.

Burroghs also attributed his chef, Clayton Condiff and his food buyer, Richard Niccoletti, to the high quality of the food.

Another restaurant that was awarded at the ceremony was Tomaso’s Italian Villa for Outstanding Small Business of the Year.

The Barber Road restaurant has been in business for over 30 years, surviving the 18 month reconstruction of Barber Road while the new high school was being built, flooding and loss of major industries in the area.

Tomaso’s is a family restaurant with a  history. The business was actually started in 1956 as Angie’s Pizza. Angie’s was located on 4th Street in Barberton and helped to introduce pizza to the chicken capital of the world.

The restaurant was started by Les Hilner and his wife Angie, who the business was named after. Les had promised his girl he would put her name up in lights if she would agree to marry him and 20 years later he did just that. Their daughter, Betty, and son-in-law, Bill, were involved in the family business when they decided to sell the business, name and all, in 1972, in order to expand. Two years later Tomaso’s was born. Les and Ångie came out of retirement to help get the business up and running again. Betty and Bill’s daughter, Lezlie, assists in the day-to-day operation of the business and has since 1996 after working with the Cleveland Cavaliers for 10 years.

Thomas Harnden received the honor of Community Leader of the Year.
Harnden is the executive director of the Barberton Community Foundation.
He is a volunteer member of Grow Barberton Inc., Barberton Citizen Hospital board, the Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority Board, Magic City Kiwanis,a St. Paul’s/Moore Memorial United Methodist Church past chairman, and a co-chair in the Finance Forum, Summit County 2010 Quality of Life Project. Harnden has also taught junior achievement in Barberton Schools.

Harnden worked for Babcock and Wilcox Company for 25 years as assistant general counsel and legal counsel. He is also a retired decorated Air Force pilot.

Sanchez and Harnden both worked to get the school levy passed. 

Harnden said his speech was centered around eliminating negative ideas of Barberton and that there should be a positive outlook.

“We have a lot of good things,” Harnden said. “Barberton has a first run movie theater, a brand new Y, and the Magical Theater which people come from all over to see.”
Harnden said he wants people to see the positive.

Sherri Sanchez was honored for Business Leader of the Year.
Sanchez has been employed at Manorcare Barberton for 18 years in a variety of positions. She has been the Director of Admissions and Marketing for more than seven years.

She is currently active with the Barberton South Summit Chamber of Commerce, Lake Anna YMCA, Grow Barberton Inc., Magic City Kiwanis, Barberton Red Cross and Co-Chair for the Magic City Kiwanis Annual Art Auction. In the past she assisted with Green Family YMCA, Barberton All Town Little League and City of Barberton Planning Committee under Mayor Randy Hart. 

Sanchez is also a co-owner of Casa Del Ranchero, a business in historic downtown Barberton with her husband of 25 years, Martin.

“We chose to stay in Barberton,” Sanchez said. “Barberton is a great community.”