The Merc

The Merc

Restaurants

When I moved to Oberlin one of the few places to have a nice lunch downtown was the Main Street Mercantile Store and Tea Room. It was a tiny space - just half of the location now occupied by Subway at 18 S. Main Street. I don't remember much in the way of merchandise but the food was good. I still crave the chicken salad sandwich. It had slivered almonds, a slice of swiss cheese, and it was grilled on rye bread. I didn't like rye bread but I LOVED that sandwich. Dinner was great there, too, and the chef, Jeff Slocum, was once featured in the New York Times https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1989/08/23/913089.html.

At one point before it closed, The Merc moved across the street into a much larger space (previously occupied by Pizza Hut, I think).