Crust & Cocktails is at 1256 Weathervane Lane in Liberty Commons, in Akron’s Merriman Valley: a 55-seat room for pizza, antipasti, wine and craft cocktails. Open Mon–Thu 4–11pm, Fri 4pm–12am, Sat 11am–12am, Sun 11am–9pm. Reservations are limited; online orders go through Toast for pickup or DoorDash for delivery.
If you searched for Merriman Valley restaurants and landed here, this is the pizza-and-wine one. Crust & Cocktails sits in Liberty Commons, on Weathervane Lane in the valley, a short walk from other Weathervane Lane rooms and a few minutes from Sand Run and the Towpath Trail.
The kitchen works from one short printed menu: antipasti, insalata, pizzaiolo, panini and dolce. Two lines give the measure of it. The Margherita is $17, with classic marinara, heirloom cherry tomatoes and burrata. The Charcuterie Board is $19, with three chef’s-choice cheeses, prosciutto and a cured meat, pickled vegetables, crackers and grapes.
The drinks side is as long as the food side. The wine list prints 23 wines, ten on the white side and thirteen reds, plus Laluca Prosecco, and the bottled list holds 18 beers, ciders and seltzers, one of them alcohol-free. Craft cocktails are made at the bar; the current card lives in the room.
The room itself is 55 seats. A long bar with stools runs along one wall, screens hang above it, and tables fill the rest of the floor. It works for a weeknight pizza for two, a glass of wine at the bar, or a table of friends on a Saturday.
Being in the valley shapes the evening. Sand Run Metro Park is about 4 minutes away by car, and the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail is about a 5-minute walk, just off Merriman Road, so a pizza after an afternoon on the trail is an easy plan.
Crust & Cocktails is accepting applications for the kitchen, the bar and the floor. If you live in the valley or nearby, the careers page explains how to apply.
Order in the room, at a table or from a stool at the bar, or order ahead on Toast (pickup) or DoorDash (delivery or pickup). Reservations are limited, so most visits are walk-ins. Pizzas are made to order.
For a birthday or a team dinner, the private events page covers how a group fits into a 55-seat room.
Weekday evenings start at 4pm: Monday to Thursday until 11pm, Friday until midnight. Saturday opens at 11am and runs until midnight, and Sunday runs 11am to 9pm, so the weekend is the time for a late lunch after a morning in Sand Run.
Crust & Cocktails, 1256 Weathervane Ln, Akron, OH 44313, in Liberty Commons in the Merriman Valley. Weathervane Lane runs off Merriman Road, and Liberty Commons sits on Weathervane.
Free-flow drive estimates: about 10 minutes from Fairlawn, about 12 from the centre of Akron and about 13 from Cuyahoga Falls. The Google listing carries the pin.
