Skip to content
BusinessesGrow
Bender's Tavern, Canton, OH

Photo: Sanfranman59, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Eat & DrinkHistory BuffDate NightFoodie Favorite

Bender's Tavern

137 Court Ave SW · Canton, OH

Why you should go…

Bender's Tavern has fed downtown Canton since 1902, and the Jacob family has run it for four generations since buying it in 1932. You eat seafood and steaks among tiger oak paneling, marble and tin ceilings in a Guy Tilden building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Jim Thorpe was known to drink at the bar, and talk from the 1920 meetings that led to the NFL carried on here.

  • #historic restaurant
  • #seafood
  • #steakhouse
  • #downtown canton

Good to know

General eat & drink guidance

Habits that pay off across this whole category, not rules for this one venue. Always check the official site for the specifics.

  • Go early or go late

    The simplest way around a wait at a popular room is to sit down before the rush or after it.

  • Reservations open on a schedule

    Where bookings are taken, tables tend to be released a set number of days in advance, often at a fixed hour.

  • Menus move with the season

    Treat any dish you read about online as a maybe, not a promise, especially anything local and seasonal.

  • Ask what the place is known for

    Staff will point you at the thing worth ordering faster than any list will.

What's around here?

The closest stops to Bender's Tavern, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Museums
    History Buff

    First Ladies National Historic Site

    Free

    A National Park Service site where you tour Ida McKinley's family home and see exhibits on America's First Ladies.

    Right next doorSwitch it up: Museums

  • Stay
    Family Favorite

    DoubleTree by Hilton Canton Downtown

    $50+

    An eight-story downtown Canton hotel with an indoor pool and the 330 Bar & Grill, near the National First Ladies' Library.

    Steps awaySwitch it up: Stay

  • Museums
    Local Gem

    Canton Classic Car Museum

    Under $25

    See more than 40 rare and unusual classic cars plus memorabilia inside a 1914 Ford dealership in downtown Canton.

    0.2 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Eat & Drink
    Local Gem

    Taggarts Ice Cream

    Under $25

    A 1920s Canton ice cream parlor with high-backed booths, known for the Bittner, a blend of ice cream, chocolate and roasted pecans.

    1.1 mi awayMore like this

  • Eat & Drink
    Foodie Favorite

    Gregory's Family Restaurant

    Under $25

    A family-owned Canton breakfast and lunch spot known for its eggs Benedict and from-scratch comfort food.

    3.4 mi awayMore like this

  • Eat & Drink
    Local Gem

    Maize Valley Winery & Craft Brewery

    Free

    A family farm near Hartville with a winery, Stark County's first craft brewery, a market and a fall corn maze.

    12 mi awayMore like this