Heritage Marion County Restaurant + Historic Preservation Destination
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY:
The Warehouse Italian Dinners — a “warehouse”-style Italian restaurant in Marion’s historic Interurban Station — is one of the early anchor’s of Marion City’s downtown revitalizastion. Owner & visionary Tim Kildow — a veteran in the Marion restaurant industry, who cut his teeth at many of Marion’s classic mid-century fine-dining establishments — purchased the building in the 1980s, when many businesses were fleeing Marion’s then hard-hit and increasingly vacant downtown corridor. At a time when Marion residents began to flock to strip malls along Highway 95 on the outskirts of town, Tim Kildow saw potential in the large brick structure: the potential to make a critical part of Marion’s history center-stage in an accessible, family-friendly Italian dining experience.
Now celebrating over 25 years as part of the lifeblood of Marion’s restaurant scene, The Warehouse is not only Marion’s “go-to” fine dining eatery for weddings, graduations, & other celebrations, but is a hub for all occasions dining. Featuring an affordable, well-stocked Italian buffet, lunch menu, dinner menu, & full-service bar, the Warehouse carries on the old-fashioned Marion fine dining traditions that Tim Kildow learned in the restaurants of his mentor. With award-winning pizzas, pastas, fresh-baked bread, & speciality dishes like eggplant parmesan, it’s easy to see why the Warehouse is a beloved Marion County foodways destination.
Still, owner Tim Kildow insists that The Warehouse is much more than a restaurant: it’s a critical part of Marion County’s built environment & social history. Kildow has been working for years to amass a complete history of his building — which once served as the Interurban Station for Marion County’s electric railway; as is working to get the property nominated to the National Register of Historic Places. He envisions the Warehouse not just as a place to eat, but as a historically-inflected tourist destination. Already, it functions as both an eatery and a museum: placards on each table feature photos of Marion interurban train cars and histories of the station; and the restaurant is decorated with period-appropriate furnishings, decor, and a working clock from when the station was operational.
The Warehouse is an outstanding example of a Marion County foodways tradition that is itself curating, protecting, & interpreting Marion County’s social histories for future generations.
SHOP // ADDRESS:
The Warehouse Italian Dinners: 302 W. Center Street || Marion, Ohio || 43302
Note: The Warehouse also has a second location along US-Route 23 just north of Delaware, Ohio: about twenty minutes south of Marion City.
CONTACT:
The Warehouse Italian Dinners (Marion): 740.387.8124 — Note that the Downtown Marion Historic Warehouse Italian Dinners location is closed for the duration of COVID-19; all orders can be made & picked up through the Warehouse’s US-23 location just north of Delaware, Ohio, on the way to Marion.
SERVICES:
Dining; catering; special events; meeting room space; local history
GENRES:
Foodways — Italian & Fine Dining; Historic Preservation
PROJECT MEDIA:
Coming soon!
PHOTO GALLERY:
