NEWARK, Ohio — Fresh off its $20 million makeover, the Cherry Valley Hotel features 200 contemporary hotel rooms and 60,000 square feet of event space on 16 acres.

  • The hotel features a gourmet restaurant with farm-to-table cuisine, and next month, a new taphouse
  • The Craftsman Kitchen features Ohio-raised all-beef burgers, chicken confit and handmade brick-oven pizzas with dough made    fresh daily from scratch
  • Ownership says they are not only reaching out to those staying at the Newark hotel, but also the surrounding central Ohio community

But in addition to event spaces and lush green space, is their farm-to-table cuisine.

“We want everybody, not only those staying in the hotel, but also the community, and we want people to travel from Franklin County as well as Knox County to come this direction,” said Robert Olinger, executive chef, Cherry Valley Hotel. 

Newark native and Executive Chef Robert Olinger says the Craftsman Kitchen features Ohio-raised all-beef burgers, chicken confit and handmade brick-oven pizza, as well as pasta made from scratch.

“This pizza is our Kale-Pesto pizza, we actually deep-fry the kale and turn it into a pesto, add sweet potato on top with caramelized onions,” said Olinger. “Our diavolo is a little spicy, it has a tomato sauce with it, our classical margarita from Italy, tomato, mozzarella, fresh basil, again from Raccoon Creek Farms. Ratatouille pizza features fresh vegetables from the garden, feta cheese, garlic, one of our most popular pies here.”

The O&E Taphouse is also expected to open next month and will feature 12 taps from some of the best local breweries.

By the time the construction ends next spring, the hotel and event spaces is expected to hire 150 part- and full-time workers.

“I really think we can deliver the goods when it comes to not only having a beautiful facility, a beautiful arboretum, but also giving our guests a great experience and a top-of-the-line food and beverage experience,” said Brian Black, GM, Cherry Valley Hotel. 

The Cherry Valley Hotel is located at 2299 Cherry Valley Road South East in Newark.