The Red Fox Sports Pub & Grille is nestled in one of the many industrial beige strip malls along State Road in Cuyahoga Falls. Out front, there is a spacious patio with fire pits offering a scenic view of traffic and even a small bar with stools.
Inside, Red Fox is cavernous. One big room is split into several sections: pool tables off to one side, a faux fire and couch space for chilling and/or celebrating, plenty more tables in the back area, a sizable dance floor and DJ booth, and yet another seating/eating area near the entrance. Plus, there are big-screen televisions strategically placed all around.
Basically, people could simultaneously hold their bachelorette party, enjoy their high school reunion, celebrate a birthday and watch a game all under one roof and there would be plenty of room for everyone.
There are two separate, sizable bars (allowing your cousin to enjoy the bachelorette party while easily avoiding her ex who showed up for the reunion) and behind them are friendly bartenders serving up a wide variety of liquors and a smaller but reasonable variety of not-too-fancy beers.
The crowd on the Friday night I visited was blue-collar, grown folks just looking to relax, have a few drinks and maybe shake their groove things to the mix the DJ was spinning, old-school and contemporary R&B from the ’60s to the ’90s.
“It’s a local neighborhood bar. But it’s huge,” Suzy Wilson of Cuyahoga Falls said. Wilson was enjoying a few drinks with her buddy Lisa Wilson (no relation), also of Cuyahoga Falls.
“I come here because it’s friendly,” Suzy Wilson said. “... it’s comfortable and everybody here has got your back.”
The Wilson non-sisters consider themselves happy-hour patrons and it’s good, beginning early at 3 p.m. featuring half-price appetizers and $2.50 domestic beers.
The Red Fox has a solid menu of familiar pub food, including sandwiches and wraps in the $7-$9 range, a few salads, five kinds of burgers that can also be ordered as three sliders for $9, pizzas from $9-$23 and, of course, wings. I tried the Armadillo Poppers from the appetizer menu — jalapeños stuffed with sausage, cheddar and cream cheese wrapped in bacon and deep fried. They were perfectly cooked, the hot pepper still firm, not too greasy or soggy, delicious and absolutely worth the $8.
Also sitting at the bar enjoying a few glasses of merlot were Tiffany Burton of the Chapel Hill area and Leann Riley of Akron.
“I love the environment, the atmosphere is awesome,” Burton said with a laugh, shortly before receiving a big, friendly hug from Suzy Wilson.
“This girl over here just walked up, talked to me and hugged me. That’s why I come here. And my mom works at the hospital nearby,” she said.
While Burton is a near regular and had apparently just made a new friend, Riley was making only her second visit to the Red Fox, and agreed about the welcoming atmosphere.
“I’m liking the music and the people seem real relaxed and are enjoying themselves,” she said.
According to my research (i.e. asking a couple of regulars), there was a time when the Red Fox had a less-than-savory reputation for some in the neighborhood. But a few years ago, the pub changed hands and was upgraded, and has re-established itself as a safe, friendly bar to dance and meet folks.
Red Fox also has daily specials including Monday wings, and Taco Tuesdays with $12 tacos and other Mexican foods at under $6. Wednesday is karaoke night, complete with $5 large pizzas and $5 Long Island Iced Teas, surely designed to help folks screw up their Karaoke Kourage. Friday and Saturday are for dancing with DJs all night.
Malcolm X Abram can be reached at mabram@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3758.