DeAnna Akers and Aaron Hervey met in the early 1990s when they worked together at Akron’s Quaker Square. In the years since, each has worked in a number of fine dining restaurants, she at Akron’s Treva, he at Harry Corvair’s. The two paired up again in the kitchen of Hudson’s Old Whedon Grille.

Soon after, the duo launched Crave, an upscale personal chef service. Just a year later, Crave moved into an Akron blues and jazz club called Northside, where it thrived for four years. Now, Crave has set up a more permanent home in the beautiful Castle Hall building in downtown Akron. After a rocky year of construction starts and stops, Crave (57 E. Market St., 330.253.1234) opened its doors Monday, Sept. 26. The space had been uninhabited for two years and required a complete demolition and renovation. Three separate spaces — an art gallery and beauty salon among them — have been merged into one large restaurant. When the patio and private dining room are completed, there will be seating for 200 guests.

Continuing the practice that Crave introduced at Northside, the restaurant will operate off one menu all day long. Unlike most fine restaurants, Crave will not shut down between lunch and dinner service. Crave is located one mile from the old Northside location, and Hervey is banking on much of the same clientele. “People were blown away by the food we were doing there,” says Hervey. “We had a really little place with a really little kitchen. We got everyone from construction workers to college students to suit-and-ties. We formed such a loyal following; it was so humbling, and we promised to keep doing what we
were doing.”

Crave’s menu glides from soups, salads and starters to sandwiches, wraps and pizzas to full-blown entrees and desserts. Moderate prices (sandwiches are in the $8 range, entrees in the $12-17 range) facilitate all-day noshing. The menu can be described as “global eclectic,” meaning it doesn’t discriminate against ingredients. Fried pickle chips receive a dusting of cumin and curry; fried Sicilian olives are stuffed with chorizo and goat cheese; a roasted jalapeño aioli dresses up a char-grilled Black Angus cheeseburger; tea-smoked duck breast is paired with confit of duck leg and served with blood orange veal glace. But Hervey and Akers don’t just pour ingredients into a dish; these are combinations that work. Often, the chefs simply take a good thing — a Reuben, say — and make it better by employing high-quality ingredients and house-made dressings. “We don’t mess with success,” adds Hervey. “We just take a few extra steps, and use our fine dining backgrounds, and infuse that into the ingredients that go into these straightforward dishes.”