On Wednesday, nearly 200 people crammed into Pufferbelly Ltd. Restaurant’s front room in Kent as an auctioneer from Kiko and Associates rattled off a list of items up for bid.
One by one, they cleared out nearly every bit of equipment and memorabilia within the restaurant’s exposed brick walls — the vintage luggage and metal beer signs, the multiple talking fish on the walls, the seemingly endless stream of train pictures, the full-sized canoe hanging from the ceiling.
It marked the end of a 35-year venture and the start of a new one as Pufferbelly owner Kevin Long auctioned off everything in the building to make room for a brand new restaurant moving in.
Long, who has owned the restaurant since 2008, closed it permanently the first day of this year. The restaurant opened under previous ownership in 1981.
“Thirty-five years is a good run,” Long said. “It was just the right time to make a change.
“I’m going to miss my customers. But the day in and day out of the hustle and bustle … no,” Long said with a laugh. “I’m not gonna miss that.”
The building at 152 Franklin Ave. was constructed as an Erie Railroad train station in 1875. It’s now part of the Kent Industrial District, which is recognized by the National Register of Historic Places.
Previous restaurant owners took the building’s history to heart and named it Pufferbelly, a dated term for a steam locomotive.
Michael Awad, who owns several other restaurants in Kent, including Laziza also located downtown, will continue the train-themed name. The new restaurant will be called Treno, which means “train” in Italian.
Awad said Treno will have a “white table cloth” setting and serve upscale Italian food made from scratch.
“We’re excited. It’s gonna be a great venture,” Awad said. “I love this town. It’s been great to me.”
Awad partnered with Ben Curtis, a professional golfer who graduated from Kent State University, with the hopes of bringing a Kent State golf theme to the bar.
He plans to make several internal structural changes to the building, including leveling the floor, some of which now sits on a platform, to make the whole area wheelchair accessible. Demolition is set to start Monday. Awad hopes to have the restaurant completed by May.
“Everything other than the walls are coming out of here and we’re gonna revamp this place,” Awad said.
Auction-goers helped clear the area of the 160 lots for sale. Everything in the restaurant was up for grabs with the exception of a few items, like the horse carriage dangling over several booths that belongs to the Kent Historical Society.
Many of the items will find homes in other local restaurants as area business owners flocked to the auction.
Others, though, were simply there for one last glimpse of the vintage-styled restaurant before it transforms into an Italian eatery.
“I kind of wanted to just see it one last time,” said Chad Everson of Ravenna, who spent his sixth wedding anniversary at the restaurant last year.
Anne Stesny of Ravenna was there “for the nostalgia of it.”
She said she worked at the mill down the street for 40 years and walked to the restaurant for lunch at least once a month.
“It was a unique restaurant. I’m sad to see it go,” Stesny said. “I don’t think anything that comes in here is going to be the same.”
Theresa Cottom can be reached at 330-996-3216 or tcottom@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @Theresa_Cottom .