Correction: LiBs Café will open for business on Monday, Jan. 4. The restaurant had a soft opening this week.
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LiBs Café is now open inside the Canfield Library. The new restaurant features house roasted specialty coffees, scratch pastries and teas. Ben and Lindsay Ratner are the owners.
“We are so happy to welcome LiBs Café to our Library family,” said Library Executive Director Aimee Fifarek. “Their enthusiasm and experience, coupled with in-house roasted coffees and homemade pastries, make a perfect combination. We wish them much success in this venture.”
LiBs is open 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Pick-up or curbside orders can be placed through @odekoapp.
The Ratners said LiBs is derived from the the first names of their children: Lilly, Isabelle, Simon, and Brodie, who was born in October. Ben Ratner said the family feels very at-home in a library and are avid readers.
The Ratners opened LiBs Market in 2015 at the former location of Friends Roastery in Salem. Since then, they have expanded to include the Best Western Dutch Village Inn, Greenford Christian Church and the Canfield Library.
The Ratners have a long history in food service. Ben Ratner took classes in the wine program at Kent State University and became interested in culinary arts. Throughout college, he managed a winery and worked in restaurants. Lindsay Ratner worked in the casual dining industry for over a decade and obtained a culinary certification in 2012. The couple formed a limited-liability corporation in 2014.
Ben Ratner said family and community are important and he looks forward to being a part of the Canfield business community. They are hoping to be able to utilize the outdoor area behind the Canfield Library when weather and the pandemic permit. “When we are able to get back together, we look forward to the foot traffic,” he said.
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