Mill Creek Cycle & Skate: Wheels to Progress

Mill Creek Cycle and Skate is a hidden gem for community members on Fifth street in Marysville. It’s a small town shop with big goals and thoughts for the future. The owner, Eric Herzog, believes that Marysville was the perfect place for his shop, “Having lived in Marysville for 17 years and seeing the growth in Marysville over that time, we felt it was a great place to start our business. I have biked most of my life and felt that the community would both support and benefit from a bicycle and skate shop.”

Herzog deems Mill Creek Cycle and Skate a full service shop, “Mill Creek is a full service shop. We can do everything from changing a flat tire to complete bike overhauls. Much of our service is in performing tune-ups; ensuring that your bike is functioning properly and is safe to ride. Our services are not limited to bikes. We have performed repairs on wheel chairs, walkers, strollers and even horse carts. If it has wheels and needs repair, chances are we can fix it.”

I can attest that his service is of the best quality as I brought a bike to him in shambles that had been sitting in the garage for years. I came back 2 days later and picked up what seemed like a brand new bike. Not to mention for a very affordable price. It now runs smooth and silk along the back roads of Marysville.

Mill Creek Cycle and Skate is still a fairly new shop and they have big plans on expanding in the future, “We currently carry one brand of adult bikes, Raleigh, which offers a wide variety of styles and performance levels. On the BMX side, we have bikes from Redline, DK and Verde. We also have a full skateboard shop where we offer skateboard components, as well as complete skateboards and longboards. In the future we would like to offer bikes from other manufactures, integrate a full clothing line and have more bikes in stock for customer selection.”

When looking to get back into biking after abandoning my bike in the garage for years, Herzog even offered friendly advice on how to start getting back into it, “My best recommendation is to get a bike that fits. Many of our customers are surprised to find out that bikes have sizes other than the wheel size. The bikes we carry at Mill Creek offer, at a minimum, 4 different frame sizes. Sizing is roughly based on height, however that is just the starting point for a comfortable fit.” Herzog also frequently shares articles on his website and Facebook page with his advice for bikers of all levels.

On the Facebook page you’ll also be able to find all the specials Mill Creek Cycle and Skate has to offer, “We currently have a summer long sale going on in conjunction with Raleigh Bikes. It's called 'The Cycle of Wellness' and offers some great discounts on the entire line of bikes. We're also having a back to school special on skateboards where you get free grip tape with any skateboard deck purchase. We always post specials on our Facebook page which can be found at https://www.facebook.com/MillCreekcycle/.

Mill Creek Cycle and Skate is active in the community and the cycling world, “We have sponsored the Marysville portion of 'The Tour of Ohio' and the 'Bike to School Challenge' that occurs during National Bike Month in May. We also planned a 'Cranksgiving Ride' which entailed collecting donations for The Salvation Army Food Pantry during the Thanksgiving season. We have provided support to the Union County covered bridges ride and completed repairs for the trikes for "Safety Town", a safety education program for children ages 3-5. As we expand, we plan to have additional bike and skateboard related events in Marysville.”

UFC Covered Bridge Tour is Saturday, September 3rd, 2016 and it’s not too late to sign up! You can register online at: www.unioncountyfoundation.org.

When Mill Creek Cycle and Skate came to Marysville they filled a void that we didn’t even realized we had, “In general, every town needs a bike shop. Marysville has a robust community of enthusiast cyclists. However, it's not just the enthusiast who need bikes or service. National statistics indicate 1/3 of the U.S. population rides a bike annually. Just like cars, bikes need service and occasionally, to be replaced. We fill a void that existed by offering quality bikes and skateboards for sale, as well as convenient repair for both.”

Eric Herzog and Mill Creek Cycle and Skate would like thank their customers and the Marysville community for supporting a family owned, small business. Feel free to stop by and see them anytime! They are open Tuesday through Saturday.

Contact Information:

Eric Herzog

120 E. Fifth Street

Marysville, Ohio 43040

937.303.8349

Email

Website

Farmers Market Provides A Taste of the Unexpected

After attending the Union County Farmers Market this past Saturday I am only sad that I had not spent every single one of my Saturday mornings there this summer. I came in with a budget that I did not follow and left with so many bags that I could not hold. I scored all of my farm fresh favorites; juicy tomatoes, plump blackberries, and homemade banana bread. I also came out with some surprises that took me out of my comfort zone; a jelly made with habanero peppers, a soap made from goats milk, and honey with a hint of lavender.

Besides the wonderful local food and products, I proudly walked away with I also had a chance to experience the aura that was in the air at the Union County Farmers Market Festival. It was refreshing to see so many happy families buzzing around and stocking up on things you just can’t get at the grocery store while listening to live music next to the pavilion. 

With over 28 vendors that offer a wide spread of fruits, vegetables,  herbs, baked goods, honey, meat, soaps, wood items, herbal teas, flowers and so much more you’ll never have a chance to be bored while visiting the Union County Farmers Market.

If you ever feel like you are making the same for dinner every week, The Union County Farmers Market also has a cure for that as they provide recipes that include all of your new fresh ingredients (click here for a PDF recipe card compilation).

The best part is you can stock up on farm fresh goodies every Saturday at Partners Park from 8:00 to 11:00 AM. But don’t wait too long because the winter months are closer than they appear, and the last Farmers Market of the season is on October 8^th.

Don’t sleep the day away this Saturday but instead come on out and get come real Hickory syrup to put on your pancakes! 

The Union County Farmers Market operates markets in Marysville and Richwood. For more information, please visit their website.

Leon's Garage Aims for Neighborhood Vibe

Rick's signature pulled pork!

The story of Leon’s Garage is one of those unique tales that can only be found in small towns like our own. On the back of Leon’s menu, they key their visitors in on how Leon’s Garage came to be, “Just to the East of Hinkley’s beautiful house and evening atmosphere, is his garage. Mr. Hinkley was a very proper man, knowing how to treat his special lady and greet his guests. But one thing is for sure, he never lost his humble roots of who he was- kind, wise, and always grounded. Welcome to Leon’s Garage. The true place to drop the status, reward yourself for a good day of hard work and connect with the people you love who make it all worth it. ‘No ties after five’ is the sentiment of the garage. Be you, be true and have a fantastic time with friends.”

 My visit at Leon’s was a perfect echo of the back of the menu. I was able to chat with the Guest Services manager, Alli, over dinner and was enlightened by everything Leon’s Garage has to offer. As soon as Alli and I started chatting I could tell she had a passion for making Leon’s the place to go in Marysville, “We are trying to bring life back into the community. Leon’s has amazing and affordable food; it makes for a great place to go out to dinner with your spouse, family, or whoever you want to take to dinner. We want to try to keep the Marysville residents in Marysville. With multiple new businesses, like Leon's, the community now has places that are close to home so they don't have to look or travel elsewhere for great food and service.”

I ordered the star item on the menu, Rick’s signature pulled pork. Alli highlighted Rick’s ability to make a great sandwich during our interview, “The pulled pork and brisket is what people come to Leon’s for. It’s slow-cooked for 14-16 hours. It’s so tender and Rick even makes a homemade signature barbeque sauce that goes with it.”

Leon's always has 20 beers on tap, you can find your
standard beer but also locally brewed beers.

You can visit Leon’s for more than just food though; they also have bands every Friday and Saturday night, trivia put on by the Marysville Public library the last Tuesday of every month, and all of your favorite sports channels broadcasting on their TV’s all around the bar. Alli got the point across that Leon’s will always leave you smiling, “I want for people to know that when they come to Leon’s they are going to get outstanding service. I want them to know if there is going to be a band here, it’s not going to be just a band, it’s going to be a good band. We are still working out the kinks and we are working towards 100% guest satisfaction; we want to be known as the place to come in Marysville.”

Alli expressed that when she was growing up in Springfield she wished she could have somewhere like Leon’s, “We didn’t have a whole lot around where I grew up. I wish we had this atmosphere there; if we would have had a place like this, I might still be there.” It’s the perfect place to chill out after work and enjoy an ice cold beer. Alli highlighted their beer selection, “We have a lot of different beer on taps. It always keeps people on their toes. We pride ourselves in bringing in locally made beer. We have brand new local brews that they can’t buy in the stores, we always have at least 2-3 IPAS on draft, ciders, dark, light, everything. It’s never boring and I’m constantly printing out new beer menus.”

Leon’s wants you to know that when you come in you’ll feel like one of their own. They want to build relationships and ever lasting friendships with people in the community. Let’s keep the community members of Marysville in Marysville!

Thank you Leon’s Garage, for helping Marysville become so much more than a city 45 minutes Northwest of Columbus.

Leon’s offers 10% off to any military, police officer, fire fighter, EMS, and anybody that is a public servant and has put their life on the line for the community. “it’s the least we can do. You’re going to come in and we are going to take care of you.”

Leon's Garage
326 East Fifth Street

Website or Facebook

County Fair Highlights Local Spirit (and Healthy Options)

It’s no doubt that fair week is one of the highlights of the summer in Union County. When you walk in you instantly smell the aroma of great food in the air, hear laughter coming from all directions, and the excitement of the town surrounds you. It’s hard to concentrate on one thing and decide what to do first; ride the rides till you feel sick, eat all of the desires of your heart, or pet every single adorable animal in sight.

For some people, the fair is just a day trip; for others, the fair is their living quarters for the week. Lilly Kincaid, an 18-year resident of Marysville, is one of those people that makes the fair their home away from home. She shows horses every year and exclaimed her excitement about something new the fair has to offer this year, “Fruit Bucket Smoothies is awesome! I am so happy they finally have something at the fair that's not going to make you puke when you're out in the heat. Awesome smoothies, awesome people! Everyone needs to go get one this week!”

Fruit Bucket Smoothies is owned by Ed and Christa Rausch, who have been proud Marysville community members their entire lives, 42 years to be specific. I was able to speak with them and hear about their goals for Fruit Bucket Smoothies inaugural year, “The goals are to bring a healthier choice of food to the festivals and fair and to have fun doing it! We all like our delicious fair food but sometimes a good, cold, healthy smoothie is perfect on a hot day!”

My pals and I had to try Ed’s favorite thing on the menu, The Bahama Mama, and Christa’s favorite thing, the Super Smoothie. The Super Smoothie has the acai berry which is super rich in fiber and antioxidants. The Super Smoothie cancelled out the humidity, a price that could never be repaid. The Bahama Mama is essentially the beach in a cup; strawberry, banana, pineapple, and coconut. The only thing missing was the sand.

Fruit Bucket smoothies also strive to be as environmentally friendly as possible. They have a punch card system that allows you to return their biodegradable cups to get a punch and they also give you another punch for purchasing a smoothie. The punches add up quickly and in the end you get a free smoothie! Save the earth, drink smoothies, and get free smoothies; that’s a system I can definitely handle.

Ed and Christa wanted to thank Marysville and their supporters, “The support has been great so far, a lot of customers are very happy they have a healthier choice. I think Marysville is a great place for the Fruit Bucket because we don't have many places that offer a good smoothie. We just want to thank our family and everyone for all their support and helping us get started. We hope to be at a lot more community events next year and hope to see everyone out supporting the local businesses.”

Smoothies, funnel cake, and summer; what’s not to love?!

You can follow Fruit Bucket Smoothies on Facebook. 

Events Bring Out Community Pride

There’s nothing better than enjoying live music with a close-knit community like Marysville on a Friday night. There was nothing but friends made, laughter shared, and happiness in the air at Uptown Marysville. I had the chance to meet a lot of great community members and listen to what they love most about Marysville!

“What do you love most about Marysville?”

“We love the small town feel. It’s a small town with a big city focus. It has everything a big city has but in a small community.” - Linda and Tom (on left)
“It’s my hometown! I left for 40 years and came back because I love it so much.” - Rosella (middle right)
“There’s a lot to do and they are good to their seniors!” - Elphie (right)

“We love the people!” - Fruit Bucket Smoothies

“It was nice growing up in a safe community with a lot to do!” - Meghan and Matt

“We love the small town feel. They are bringing the big city to a small town!”-Bill, Wendy, Julie 

“The library. We’ve met a lot of friends at story time.” - Allie and Zach (in wagon)

“It’s an up and coming small town. The parks are gorgeous and the city has done a great job!”- Hillary from Laughing Dog Studio

“The welcoming and friendly people. We love youth to youth, the drug free coalition. Right now we are working against underage drinking. We also enjoy all of the local food places like Fifth Street Café.” – Union County Drug Free Coalition

“The small town and community. The people and the businesses still look out after each other and support the community. There is also a great variety in Marysville.” - Rich from Nationwide Children’s

“Everyone is very friendly and hardworking. We still have that small town feel!”- Katie from Nationwide Children’s Close to Home

What isn’t there to love about Marysville? We hope to see you at the next Friday Nights Uptown on August 5th  for more fun, food, and music! For a complete listing of upcoming events, please visit our Neighborhood Calendar!

The Half Pint on a Friday Night

Hi, it’s Morgan DeWitt, I’m the new kid on the block here at Team Marysville. I’ve joined with the team to spread the good word of our community through this blog. This week I’m here to share about another new kid on the block, the Half Pint.

The beautiful, rustic, and laid back interior of the Half Pint

I came to the Half Pint expecting a cheeseburger cooked to perfection with perfectly salted French fries on the side. I not only had the best, but also the strangest cheese burger I’ve ever had the privilege of eating; I also came out with the feeling that I had just gained some high-quality friends. 

I was able to chat with Scott, the manager, over his meal suggestion, a PB&J burger. I’m not going to lie, I was skeptical about Scott’s choice but I stepped out of my comfort zone and devoured (I mean seriously, devoured) a hamburger with peanut butter and jelly on it. I also know there are stereotypes about ordering crab cake in Ohio, but Scott swears that Chef Ryan’s crab cakes taste like they are fresh off the East Coast. I dare you to try a PB&J hamburger and a crab cake from Ohio at the same time - you won’t regret it. 

This is me devouring a PB&J hamburger, nice to meet you!

Besides encouraging me to take risks with my hamburger selection, Scott also gave me the low down on what the Half Pint is bringing to Marysville’s community. Marysville needs a community that works together and Scott agrees with that to the fullest degree, “I don’t want the Half Pint to take away from any other business in Marysville. I want to give Marysville a place to sit down and get an efficient burger and fast. The Half Pint, the Old Bag of Nails, and Leon’s can all work together to make downtown Marysville a great place along with giving it that “closer to home feel” rather than driving all the way to Dublin to have dinner with the family.”

We are blessed to live in a small community where it’s easy to recognize faces when you walk into a restaurant and give a small hello or wave. The Half Pint and Scott want to expand this simple wave into something more, “The community doesn’t just need food and beer, the community needs relationships and friends. I want to come out to your table and know about you, I want to know about your family, what you do, everything. I want to know that you’re comfortable and that you can tell me if the food sucks at dinner that night. I want to be involved not just because I have to be but because I want to be.”

I had nothing to complain about after I ate dinner at the Half Pint but if I did I would have no problem telling my new friend, Scott. Thank you Half Pint, for helping Marysville become so much more than a city 45 minutes Northwest of Columbus. You can enjoy a fantastic meal, make friends, and bring the whole family out to the Half Pint. You can find it at 211 East 5th Street.

The Half Pint Marysville
211 East 5th Street
Website or Facebook