Good Company Focuses on Comfort Food Favorites

Barely a minute into an office worker’s typical weekend, and Good Company in Akron is abuzz. Families fill corner-hugging booths, and customers dot the stools along the bar. A glowing neon sign on the wall proclaims, “Have a Good One!” and aptly sums up the aim of this comfort-food spot with two northeast Ohio locations.

Ryan Williams is the executive chef of Good Company’s Cleveland and Akron locations, while Tommy Kettel serves as lead chef in Akron. The Cleveland restaurant was the first to open in 2019. In 2022, present-day owner Will Hollingsworth acquired it. The second Good Company opened in the former fire station along Akron’s Maple Street in 2024.

The menus focus on a lineup of elevated, scratch-made classics, such as the corned beef hash and the Steak Supper (an 8-ounce cowboy sirloin, local vegetables and rosemary garlic fries served with a choice of herbed compound butter, chimichurri or peppercorn sauce). Then there are Good Company’s fall-off-the-bone, 72-hour wings. These wonders marinate in dry spices for 24 hours, followed by a confit-style cook and then a cooling and refrigeration period.

“If we pulled them straight out of the oven and went right back into the fryer, it wouldn’t be the same as the product that we are aiming for,” Williams says. “So that cooling is actually very important to trap all the juices and fat. It’s like setting a cheesecake almost. Everything needs to re-cool together.”

Frying the wings to order and then tossing them in a house-made sauce or dry-spice blend are the final steps. Before digging in, don’t overlook the starters like Bonzo Balls (a fritter made with chickpeas, garlic, panko breadcrumbs and herbs). Sides include Fried Chicken Skins sprinkled with nori salt and served with buttermilk ranch and pickled celery. 

Good Company is open for dinner every day except one (closed Tuesday in Cleveland and Wednesday in Akron) and begins serving at 11 a.m. on Sundays. Try brunch standouts like the chicken and waffles or French toast sticks, which were born when Kettel serendipitously made too much bread pudding for a Mother’s Day brunch. 

“That’s what Good Company is,” Kettel says, “making food that is not only accessible, but if you’re a foodie … it’s going to kind of pop off too.”

Akron: 60 S. Maple St., Akron 44303, 330/252-9099, goodcompanyakron.com; Cleveland: 1200 W. 76th St., Cleveland 44102, 216/331-0318, goodcompanycle.com

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