By Dawn Scotland
The Truth Assistant Editor
There are new businesses flourishing on Summit Street in downtown Toledo. From pickleball to trendy bars and event spaces, new developments are growing in the district including Ostrich Towne. In the heart of this redevelopment are local entrepreneurs Amy Hall along with Terry and Annika Awls (of Legacy Partners of NWO.)
Last Drop Coffee Shop (927 N. Summit St.)
Last Drop Coffee Shop offers a unique and modern space for the community to work, meet and dine. Owner Amy Hall and co- managers Terry Awls and wife Annika Awls of Legacy Partners of NWO have created a spot that they ensure is for everybody.
“Last Drop is a late-night coffee shop.” said owner Hall. “Really the idea was to bring community to Toledo. To have a place where you could get a great cup of coffee, some really good food, but have a sense of belonging here, and to be able to create that here. So that’s what Last Drop is.”
“You walk in here at any given time, and you just see what I believe represents Toledo. You have such a cross section of people. You have folks in the back working, you have people, with families, like up front…It really is reflective of the community in which we live in. You can see a little bit of anyone at any given time, and when you walk in. So, it’s wonderful. It’s doing exactly what it was intended to do.”
Terry Awls is a trained chef who manages the back of the house while his wife Annika manages the front of the house. With their company, Legacy Partners of Northwest Ohio, whose clients have included Tolhouse (also on Summit Street), the Toledo Museum of Art, Maumee Country Day School and more, they bring their expertise along with Hall’s to the business.
“The main thing is just making sure that when people walk in, they don’t see a black coffee shop. They see a coffee shop. With great service. And that’s what we want people to see. That’s it,” said Terry Awls.
Last Drop opened last month and offers a select menu with offerings for breakfast, lunch, dinner and desserts in addition to their drink offerings. The café signature items are their cinnamon rolls, everything croissant and potato bacon soup. “And so we keep it simple, but what we do, we do really well. And so it’s kind of like a unique spin,” said Awls.
They also offer daily specials.
The venue is aiming to be the Last Drop, or last spot, at the end of your night out to enjoy coffee or cocktails in the area. The space is currently open until 6 p.m. but will soon be open late night with alcohol. The new hours will close at 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday and midnight Friday and Saturday. No membership is required.
Last Drop is available for rent. There is a conference room, flexible office space, and area for large groups to rent as well as the whole space. There is also a stage where there have been podcast recordings. “It’s almost like a world class coffee shop just dropped into Toledo,” said Annika Awls.
To learn more about Last Drop visit Facebook or Instagram.
Avestruz (Tapas and Tequila) (915 N. Summit St.) – Opening Soon
There will soon be a re-opening of the Mexican inspired tapas bar Avestruz (Spanish: Ostrich) that closed last year. The partners of this venture are Restore 419, Legacy of NWO and Empowerment Group.
The restaurant is set to open within the next month. The restored restaurant will still serve Mexican tapas but will offer a new twist under new management.
“So the thing that’s going to set us apart from the previous phase [is that] our bar menu is going to be probably second to none. Phenomenal,” commented Terry Awls. “And kitchen wise, we’re going to have some really neat dishes that you can’t get anywhere else,” he added.
“Our service again, is going to be a thing that sets us apart…. good food, good servers, great drinks. The atmosphere is really neat and that’s just a tip of the iceberg,” added Awls.
“You’re going to get a feel that you’re in a high-end Mexican tapas restaurant that people are going to come for the drinks and they’re going to stay for the food. The goal is to walk away with a ‘wow’” he shared.
The space will also be available for rent.
The hours for the restaurant 4-10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 4-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 12-6 p.m. Sunday. The restaurant will be closed Monday and Tuesday.
Cielo (Open Air Lounge) – Opening in Spring 2027
Amy Hall will also open a new space that broke ground this month next to Last Drop. The co-managers of the space will also be Legacy Partners of NWO.
“So we’re bringing a little bit of Antigua, Guatemala, which is one of my favorite places to go,” said owner Hall. “So, I figured most people might not have the opportunity to go to Antigua, Guatemala. So why not bring it here? Why not share what you love? That’s what we’re here to do.”
The space will be an open-air lounge that overlooks the city with a full bar and pizza oven. The late-night lounge will be right next to Last Drop mirroring its hours where patrons can flow between the two spaces. It will also be available for rent for parties and special events.
“There is nothing like it here,” stated Hall. “It will be unlike anything in Toledo.”
In fact, Summit Street is already unlike anything else in Toledo with its expanding restaurant and entertainment scene. About five years ago, businesses started to open along a strip that had long been dormant. TolHouse, Toledo Spirits, Toledo Pickle, Bertha Mae’s, Molly’s Irish Pub, Riverside BBQ have opened bringing an assortment of food and entertainment to a once desolate and forgotten area of town.
A lot of everything can be found along this north Summit Street strip will add more highlights in coming years.