NEOhio.news and Chives Digital are launching nominations for the 2026 NEOhio.news Cafe Tour, a months-long celebration of Northeast Ohio’s favorite cafes: “small restaurants selling light meals and drinks”—that will officially hit the road in May. This community-powered tour invites readers to help surface the spots where great drinks, simple, satisfying bites, and good conversation come together every day.
What the cafe tour is
The NEOhio.news Cafe Tour is a curated series of stops at standout local cafés, designed to encourage readers to explore new neighborhoods, support small businesses, and uncover hidden gems they might otherwise miss. Throughout the tour, nehio.news will highlight participating cafés through stories, photos, and digital guides, giving readers a handy roadmap for their next coffee break or meet-up. Each stop will showcase what makes that cafe special—signature drinks, memorable pastries, creative menus, or the community vibe regulars can’t stop talking about.
How it works
During the month of April, you can nominate your favorite Northeast Ohio cafe—a small restaurant selling light meals and drinks—to be part of the NEOhio.news Cafe Tour. A simple online form (linked from nehio.news and the tour showcase page) lets you share the name, location, and what your favorite spot is known for, along with a short note about why it belongs on the tour. You can use the same form to nominate more than one cafe, so feel free to shout out every place you love. Cafes are also welcome to nominate themselves, giving owners and staff a chance to put their own businesses forward for consideration.
What happens after you nominate
After the April nomination period closes, the nehio.news team will review all submissions and select eight locations to visit as official NEOhio.news Cafe Tour stops. We will consider both the stories people share about why a cafe matters to them and the number of nominations each cafe receives when choosing those eight tour locations. The final list of tour cafés will be announced in phases, and once a cafe has been visited as part of the tour, it will receive a dedicated feature on nehio.news highlighting its story, people, and must-try menu items.
How local cafés benefit
Participating cafés will gain visibility through nehio.news coverage, interactive maps, and the NEOhio.news Cafe Tour showcase, all powered by Chives Digital’s local storytelling and digital promotion platform. As nominations come in, every eligible cafe will appear on a public map of Northeast Ohio, giving readers a visual way to discover new spots and plan their visits, and once the tour kicks off in April, an integrated tour map will track the route as it progresses across the region. The tour is designed to drive real foot traffic and build lasting relationships by connecting readers with independent businesses they can return to long after the tour ends. Cafes will also have opportunities to offer special drinks, limited-time menu items, or small events tied to their tour feature after their visit, giving customers one more reason to stop in and support local.
About NEOhio.news, Chives Digital and SpiderCat Marketing
NEOhio.news is a local news and storytelling platform focused on connecting communities across Northeast Ohio through neighborhood-level coverage and features. Chives Digital provides the digital infrastructure behind the NEOhio.news Cafe Tour, including mapping, nomination tools, and interactive tour experiences. SpiderCat Marketing developed the cafe tour concept and powers all social media promotion for the project, helping nominated and featured cafés reach local coffee lovers across the region.
