Home Turf

IN HYNDE SIGHT

Rock legend Chrissie Hynde opens a vegan eatery in her hometown of Akron, Ohio.

BY KRISTAN SCHILLER

Anyone who’s ever seen the video for The Pretenders’ 1980 hit song “Brass in Pocket” (also known as “I’m Special”) starring Chrissie Hynde as a waitress—jotting down lunch orders with a pen she grabs from behind her ear—can attest to the fact that the rocker appears quite comfortable at the local diner. Perhaps that’s why she’s decided to open one of her own.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, who has lived in London since 1973, has just opened a vegan restaurant called VegiTerranean (www..thevegiterranean.com) in her hometown of Akron, Ohio. With more than a dozen successful albums under her studded belt and a worldwide image as the celebrity spokeswoman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Hynde says it was time for her to give something back to her Ohio community.

“It’s really only when you go away that you realize how gorgeous this area is,” says Hynde in an interview at her new eatery and bar, which will serve no meat or animal products and will lean toward Mediterranean-style cooking. The indoor-outdoor gourmet bistro is located at the new Northside Lofts, a condominium development widely heralded for modernizing this once booming manufacturing town.

Hynde is partnering with local restaurateur Dan Duplain, owner of nearby Canton’s popular Fedeli, in her culinary venture.

“There are some remarkable things here in Akron and I want people to come here and say, ‘Why haven’t we been here before?’ I want people to be as proud of this city as I am,” she says.

A graduate of Firestone High School in Akron, Hynde has stayed close to her roots. She frequently visits her parents in nearby Fairlawn, and she keeps current with the local music scene by playing concerts at the Akron Civic Theatre (www.akroncivic.com). She performed an acoustic set there in September with fellow Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Jerry Lee Lewis.

In the song “My City Was Gone,” which was released in 1983, you lament, “I went back to Ohio, but my city was gone.” Do you think your city is now coming back?

“I do. Certainly, the entire downtown area has been resculpted. It was pretty much torn down in the 1970s, but it’s starting to look good again. In fact, the railroad station is right across the street from our restaurant. You can hop on the train and see the countryside, then come have a vegetarian meal. The symbol of the arrowhead has special meaning because it reminds you that this is where the Native Americans brought their canoes—they rode along these beautiful rivers and through these incredible lakes and valleys. It’s like living in a virgin forest here. For thousands of years, they used the Cuyahoga River and Valley for transportation. Then, the early settlers used the Ohio and Erie Canal until the first steam engine came in the late 1800s. The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad (www.cvsr.com) is now owned by the National Parks Service and it’s a beautiful way to see the area. There’s a wealth of history here in this valley.”

What other aspects of Akron are experiencing a revival?

“In so many ways the community is bringing life back to Akron, and it’s great to see. The Akron Art Museum (www.akronartmuseum.org) has a new wing, [the John S. and James L. Knight Building], which has more than tripled the size of the museum. The original museum building dates back to the 19th century, but the new wing just opened this year. The collections are much larger, and it’s drawing some well-deserved attention to Akron. They’ve got Andy Warhol on display, as well as local and regional artists from Northeast Ohio.”

Is it exciting to be opening a restaurant in your hometown?

“It’s really a dream come true. I want to be a part of Akron’s renaissance. On our menu, for example, we’re going to have a ‘Dr. Bob’ version of all our cocktails (i.e., non-alcoholic) because Dr. Bob, who helped found Alcoholics Anonymous, is from Akron—right nearby on Ardmore Avenue. And I feel like this is someone we should be really proud of. He went on to form this universal movement that has helped millions of people and he’s from Akron. I want to commemorate that somehow through the restaurant. When you go back to the place where you were born, you feel a certain nostalgia. I feel it, and I want others to feel it too.”