New Year’s resolutions from Cleveland.com food reporters
Reporter Marc Bona plans to source his beer locally in the New Year.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -– Most New Year’s Resolutions revolve around personal finances and physical fitness. While we’re concerned about those things, our foodie team – Marc Bona, Alex Darus and Paris Wolfe – is focusing on culinary resolutions for 2026. We have examined how our food decisions affect ourselves, our quality of life and our place in the world. We resolve to make any worthwhile adjustments.
Reporter Paris Wolfe plans to shop local farms and markets for food whenever possible.
Alex Darus
Resolution: I’m aiming to support more local restaurants than ever in 2026. I’ll prioritize patronizing a local restaurant versus chain options. The goal is to go to more new-to-me restaurants and become a regular at my current favorites.
Why? Cleveland’s local dining scene is a gem worth cherishing. These days, restaurants are overcoming more hurdles than ever, from staffing to inflation to changing dining habits. It makes the paper-thin margins of the restaurant industry, somehow, even thinner.
Our local dining scene only flourishes if we support it. The dining scene is also the backbone of a community and a necessary engine to local economies. If we want to see our favorite restaurants and bars shuttering, we all need to prioritize patronizing them. It’s not hard, especially when you look at the cost of a chain restaurant versus a local business. The prices for food aren’t very different, although the quality often differs. Patronizing happy hours and diversifying the types of places I go out to eat at also can make this a more attainable goal.
Related
Reporter Alex Darus plans to patronize even more local restaurants in 2026 and encourages Cleveland foodies to do the same.
Paris Wolfe
Resolution: I will shop locally for food and beverages. I will buy local meat, cheese, produce, wine, beer and other culinary items. I will also shop local, independently owned retailers.
Why? I care about myself and the people around me. My food-budget decisions can make a difference to my health, the local economy and the environment. If more people shopped this way we could make meaningful impact.
- Support my health – I know the farmers and purveyors, and they can tell me where my food comes from and how it was raised. I can better avoid farm chemicals, animal supplements and food additives. Also, just-picked produce has more nutrition than weeks-old produce.
- Boost the local economy – When I buy vegetables at Rainbow Farms in Perry or at North Union Farmers Market, more dollars stay in the community, compared to shopping at an out-of-town chain. With money staying in the community, the local tax base is better funded, which translates into more money for schools, parks and public safety.
- Build relationships – When I go to Ohio City Provisions, West Side Market or a similar small business, I can talk to people who operate the small business. They offer expert advice on what cuts of meat to choose or how to cook unusual vegetables.
- Contribute to environmental sustainability – When a farm store like PurpleBrown in Peninsula or Sage’s in Chardon source vegetables from local farms, they have shorter shipping distances thus lowering carbon emissions from transportation. That is better for the environment.
Cleveland.com dining reporters Marc Bona, Paris Wolfe and Alex Darus share their foodie resolutions for 2026.
Related
Marc Bona
Resolution: To belly up to the bar at more of Northeast Ohio’s 100-plus craft breweries.
Why: Despite the craft-beer industry taking a hit over the past year from other sectors of the market (marijuana products, sober crowd, canned cocktails), it is still a vibrant part of our economy.
Usually when I go to a new restaurant or brewery, I am there to do a story about a recent or upcoming opening. Often, a place is empty, and it’s just me and the owner or brewer, and I learn about the successes and challenges, popular beers, brewhouse work and more.
Several years ago, I made an effort to head out and write about every brewery in Northeast Ohio. I was on a pretty good clip, too, until Covid popped up. I am still chipping away at the ever-changing list. Some close, some open, others change hands or celebrate anniversaries - it keeps churning. (This year, Cleveland Brewery Passport had its largest field ever, with 46 places participating in the beer-travel-tourism promotional program.)
About a fourth of the state’s 440 breweries are in Northeast Ohio. They are in cities, suburbs, rural areas – every cranny throughout the state.
Looking forward to more jaunts.
Related
©2025 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit cleveland.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
