New Family Run Restaurant Headed to Former Parasson’s Building in Stow

A new restaurant is on its way to one of Stow’s most recognizable dining spots. Stow City Council granted a conditional zoning certificate at its July 8 meeting for the building at 3983 Darrow Rd., clearing a required hurdle for a new tenant to move into the space once occupied by Parasson’s Italian Restaurant. A Building With Decades of History The building sits on 2.56 acres along a busy stretch of Darrow Road and has served as a restaurant for most of its history. Long before Parasson’s, the site housed The Smorgasbord, which opened in 1939 in a stucco building that had previously been home to the Motor Inn, a roadhouse popular in the early twentieth century. Parasson’s, founded in 1960, operated the Stow location for years as part of a small family chain that once included four locations. The Stow restaurant moved to takeout only during the COVID 19 pandemic and never reopened for dine in service before closing for good in May 2024. The company’s Akron location remains open. Because the building has sat vacant for more than six months, city code required a conditional zoning certificate before a new restaurant could move in, even though the site has been used as a restaurant for decades. According to Summit County Fiscal Office records, the property has been owned by Lee Grosscup since June 2025. Council Approves the Application Council’s resolution granted the conditional zoning certificate to the Nader family, applicant, on behalf of Grosscup, the property owner. The resolution passed unanimously. Council Member Cyle Feldman said during the meeting that he was looking forward to a new restaurant at the location. What the Nader Family Has Planned According to the application submitted to the city, the new restaurant will be a family run operation. A husband and wife team is expected to serve as assistant managers, while their children will help with promotions, marketing and outsourced accounting and payroll. The application lists hiring a general manager and head chef among the family’s first priorities, and specifies the general manager will be a sommelier with several years of experience running a restaurant. The family has said it plans to maintain the current look of the building while addressing needed repairs, with the goal of keeping the cozy, classic feel that made the space a longtime neighborhood favorite. The application does not include a name for the new restaurant or a projected opening date.