Minerva’s past, present meet at Walker’s Café

Dawn Marie and her husband Tom Green are bringing tradition and history back to Minerva with the newly opened Walker’s Café on Market Street in Minerva.
“My mother, Patsy Karlen, owned Walker’s Corner and I grew up in there,” said Dawn Marie. “She sold Walker’s Corner 25 years ago and I wanted back into the restaurant business.”
Walker’s Corner opened in 1965 and Dawn Marie plans to continue the legacy of that as well as serve Minerva and honor the history of the village. They bought the building in 2019 and it took around 14 months to do the restaurant restoration. The pandemic delayed the opening for awhile.
Each table in the café was built by Tom and is full of Minerva village history. Historical photos, articles and artifacts are built into the tables and can be seen through the table. Several items are also hung on the walls at the booths. Some tables have a history of Minerva laminated for patrons to read.
“There was no plan, it just seemed to happen,” said Tom. “We started getting pictures and items donated by local Minerva people, so I built the tables with the items inside.”
Walker’s Café is open for breakfast and lunch seven days a week with smoked BBQ ribs specials every Wednesday, and fish sandwich specials every Friday. Nothing is frozen and everything is fresh, and all dressings are homemade.
“Everything on the menu is homemade and with fresh ingredients,” said Dawn Marie. “The coney sauce is grandma’s recipe from the old Dairy Queen and we also have potato pancakes which are not available at too many places anymore.”
Walker’s Café is located at 121 N. Market St., Minerva. Hours are 7 a.m.-2 p.m. every day. There will be extended hours during Minerva Village events such as the upcoming Downtown Wonderland and Christmas Parade and Dora events. To check for specials or special hours and updates, see “Walker’s Café Minerva, Ohio” on Facebook.