HARTVILLE Kitchen, market, nature call you

A 15-acre shopping complex has been built next to the restaurant.
By REBECCA SLOAN
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Once upon a time, the Hartville Kitchen was a humble establishment that served up stick-to-your-ribs, country cooking in a building that could seat only 75 people.
As the restaurant's reputation for delicious, home-cooked meals grew, so did the need for greater seating capacity, so in 1995, a brand-new, 103,000-square-foot building was constructed, complete with gleaming brass chandeliers, grand, sweeping staircases, banquet rooms, a bakery and a gift shop.
But despite the elegant d & eacute;cor and the capacity to seat nearly 1,000, the restaurant's atmosphere remained as country as apple pie and casual enough for blue jeans.
It was just the right recipe for further success.
Crowds continued to pour in, and even with all that new square-footage, lunchtime diners from all over the state still waited patiently in long lines, eager for a taste of those famous mashed potatoes, roast pork and homemade dinner rolls.
Recently, the Hartville Kitchen's Mennonite owners decided it was time for yet another expansion.
This time it came in the form of a whopping, 15-acre shopping complex called Hartville Market Place, directly behind the restaurant.
If you like quaint country views, pumpkin pie like Momma used to make and shopping 'til you drop, you can't go wrong at these Stark County tourist attractions.
The Hartville Market Place features an outdoor flea market and two floors of indoor booths where shoppers can purchase everything from buffalo steaks to handmade soap to wind chimes to dog biscuits.
Even grouchy husbands and restless little boys who hate to shop will enjoy perusing the market place since sports cards, black powder gun accessories and hand tools are among the thousands of items sold there.
The Hartville Market Place is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
The Hartville Kitchen is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day except Wednesday and Sunday. Both are located on Route 619 just west of the center of town.
Although the Hartville Kitchen is undoubtedly Hartville's No. 1 attraction, there are plenty of other things to see and do in this quaint little burg.
Other attractions
Hartville's streets are crammed with charming shops such as the Hartville Chocolate Factory, Eaton Place Furniture and Lighting, Now and Again Books, Best Bib and Tucker (a fashion consignment shop), various antique shops and shops that sell Longaberger baskets, which are made in Hartville.
Just outside town, the scenery turns idyllic, especially during the fiery peak of Ohio's fall foliage.
Rolling hills of amber-colored oats and golden corn flash past the car window and are interrupted only by fine, old farmhouses and rustic, red barns.
If you feel like getting out of your car and taking a walk in nature, the 10 miles of trails at Hartville's Quail Hollow State Park are the perfect place for a hike.
Back in the 1800s, the park's fields, marshes and woods belonged to local pioneer farm families, and the park's spacious, 40-room Greek-revival-style manor, now used for nature study and community programs, started out as a circa-1838 farmhouse.
Traces of quieter days still emanate from the grounds of Quail Hollow.
The park's English-style herb garden, with an old-fashioned sundial and angular, brick paths is a delightful place to rest or stroll.
Working off lunch
A paved trail through the park's pine forest proves heavenly when the scent of crushed evergreen rises from under the soles of your shoes and the overhead branches create a cool, emerald canopy.
A boardwalk trail through one of the park's marshes is sunny and serene, and a hilly, dirt trail through thick forest is rugged enough for a bit of a workout -- a good opportunity to work off the mashed potatoes and cherry pie you ate at the Hartville Kitchen.
Besides hiking trails, the park, at 13480 Congress Lake Av., offers bridle trails, picnic grounds, camping and nature programs.
The visitor center, in the manor house, is open from 1 to 5 p.m. weekends.
You can get to Hartville from Youngstown by taking Interstate 77 west to state Route 43 south. The trip takes less than an hour.
XFor more information on Hartville Kitchen and Hartville Market Place, call (330) 877-9353. For more information on Quail Hollow, call (330) 877-1528.