What Bucci’s Statewide Award Says About Downtown Marion

A downtown Marion restaurant just received one of Ohio’s top Main Street honors.

But this story is about much more than Italian food.

Bucci’s Italian Scratch Kitchen has been named Heritage Ohio’s 2026 Main Street Business of the Year. The statewide award recognizes a business that isn’t simply operating in a downtown—it is actively helping that downtown become stronger.

For Marion, the recognition feels especially meaningful.

Bucci’s represents what can happen when someone sees potential in an old building, takes a chance on an idea and continues working through the difficult parts that most people never see.

The Story Started Before Bucci’s

Owner Alex Sheridan’s investment in Marion began long before the first plate of pasta was served.

He started purchasing and renovating local properties around 2011. His attention eventually turned to South Main Street, where several downtown buildings were sitting vacant or underused.

Instead of viewing those properties only as old buildings needing substantial work, Sheridan saw an opportunity to create something bigger.

That work helped produce The Brickyard on Main, which opened as an event venue in February 2020.

Yes—February 2020.

Opening a business centered around weddings and large gatherings immediately before a global pandemic is about as rough as timing gets. Somehow, The Brickyard survived. As events returned, the demand for weddings and gatherings helped create another opportunity in a nearby historic property.

The original plan included an upstairs event space with a restaurant operated by someone else on the first floor.

When the right restaurant operator couldn’t be found, the team made a bold decision:

They would open the restaurant themselves.

Bucci’s Italian Scratch Kitchen opened in 2023 inside a historic former trolley-station property at 320 West Center Street.

Opening the Doors Was Only the Beginning

A beautiful building and a good idea do not automatically create a successful business.

Like many independent restaurants, Bucci’s faced rising food costs, staffing challenges, tight margins and the everyday pressure of convincing customers to return.

The operation had to adapt.

Team members stepped into new roles. Expenses were examined. Systems changed. The restaurant found firmer footing, and its financial performance began improving during 2025.

Then the team tried something different.

A traditional brunch was transformed into “Brunch, Please!”—a ticketed, interactive sing-along experience. The first event sold out. Videos from that brunch helped the next one sell out within days.

The experience began attracting visitors from across the country.

Those guests didn’t only spend money inside the restaurant. They visited other downtown businesses, explored Marion and sometimes stayed overnight. That turned a creative restaurant promotion into something with a broader economic impact.

Bucci’s and The Brickyard were also selected for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s 2026 CO—100, which recognizes outstanding small and midsized businesses from across the country.

That is a remarkable amount of attention being generated by a local business in downtown Marion.

Why This Award Matters to the Rest of Marion

It’s easy to think of a successful restaurant as an isolated business story.

It isn’t.

A busy restaurant creates foot traffic. Foot traffic introduces people to neighboring shops, entertainment venues and other restaurants. Increased activity makes nearby properties more appealing to entrepreneurs and investors.

One successful project makes the next investment feel a little less risky.

That is how downtown momentum builds—not through one enormous announcement, but through individual people making a series of intentional decisions.

Buy the neglected building.

Preserve the history.

Create something people want to experience.

Give them a reason to return.

Then watch as the activity begins spreading beyond that property.

The Real Estate Connection

As a real estate agent, I naturally notice what this story says about property.

Real estate is never only about a building. It is about what someone believes that building can become.

The property housing Bucci’s could have remained another piece of underused downtown real estate. Instead, someone saw the architecture, location and history as assets worth saving.

That investment created a restaurant, gathering place, event space and destination that now attracts people to Marion.

This doesn’t mean every old building offers the same opportunity or that restoration is easy. Downtown properties can involve significant expenses, complicated renovations and plenty of risk.

But it does show why vision matters.

The value of a property is sometimes found in what already exists. Other times, it is found in what a person is willing to build there.

A Win Worth Celebrating

Heritage Ohio’s recognition belongs to the owners and team members who worked through the difficult seasons and helped turn Bucci’s into what it is today.

But it is also a win Marion can be proud of.

Our downtown is increasingly becoming a place where history, entrepreneurship and new ideas work together. Bucci’s is now one of the clearest examples of that progress.

The award is nice.

The national recognition is impressive.

But the bigger story is that an old Marion property was given another chance—and that second chance is now helping bring people, activity and attention into the heart of our community.

That’s the kind of move worth celebrating.

Chris Massey
Marion Moves with Chris Massey
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