Appalachian Travel: Five New Food and Drink Options Near Hocking Hills
Three new restaurants and wine and coffee shops have brought a boost to the business climate in Logan, Ohio, in Hocking County.
Erin Edwards
Located at the foot of the Hocking Hills, Logan’s downtown has been experiencing a revival of late. The long-closed, 1920s-era Logan Theater is being renovated, a new restaurant called 58 West made its debut last December and other new businesses have popped up in recent months. Not all Hocking Hills visitors are planning to cook around the campfire, so here are a few new spots to check out.
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Housed in a former car dealership at 58 W. Second St., 58 West is one of the most notable dining openings in the region of late. The family-owned restaurant (which shares a roof with Motherwell Distilling Co. and its sibling brewery and winery) is owned and operated by brothers Blaine and Drew Davidson, along with Blaine’s wife, Allison, and Drew’s wife, Laura. “I view it as definitely on the upswing from a revitalization standpoint,” Laura Davidson says about downtown Logan. “[It] has been really great just to see those storefronts come back to life.” With about 200 seats indoors and out, 58 West offers a handsome dining room with a large bar, ample patio and elevated comfort food for lunch and dinner. Menu items range from a fried green tomato BLT to pan-seared scallops to a pasture-raised, dry-aged strip steak. Wines and beers served here are from the restaurant’s sibling businesses, Hocking Hills Winery and Hocking Hills Brewing Co. Or you can’t go wrong with the bar’s smoked Old Fashioned, which fills the restaurant with the smell of burning cedar. It’s almost like being around the campfire. 58west.com
Open only since mid-January, Allegria Wine Room is an independent wine shop owned by Trish Riggs and Jeannie Faulkner. Located at 84 E. Main St., next to the Logan Theater, Allegria sells bottles from around the globe, as well as specialty food items. The shop (open Fridays and Saturdays only) also boasts a tasting bar where certified wine professional Riggs hosts wine tastings and classes. allegriawinetasting.com
When Lee Howdyshell, the owner of Logan’s longtime eatery Bush’s Restaurant, retired in 2022, he seamlessly handed over the space at 428 E. Front St. to restaurateur Tristan Roley, owner of the Feed. Now with his own brick-and-mortar, Roley serves high-quality pub fare ranging from beignets and breakfast burritos to pimento cheese burgers and lamb lollipops. feedthehockinghills.com
In February, a new business called Sibs Soda & Boba Bar opened at 96 Main St. The shop offers boba teas, coffee drinks, smoothies, açai bowls, sodas and “gourmet toasts” such as the Sweet Tooth with Nutella, strawberries and coconut. instagram.com/sibs_soda_and_boba_bar
Soaring ceilings and views of the Hocking Hills help set the tone at Rock House—not the area’s must-see cave, but the American restaurant inside the new Hocking Hills State Park Lodge, a short drive from downtown Logan. Dishes range from smoked trout fritters and French onion soup to fried catfish and Ohio strip steak. In addition to the full-service restaurant, the new lodge includes Rock House Pub and a grab-and-go coffee shop called Cafe ’22. hockinghillsparklodge.com/dining
This story is from the Appalachian Spring feature package in the April 2023 issue of Columbus Monthly.