SECOND: Last Exit Books and Coffeehouse

Whether it’s grabbing a coffee in the front of the store, browsing through used books in the back or looking at old vinyl records and t-shirts by the larger sitting area, couples have options at Last Exit Books and Coffeehouse.

Last Exit employee Isabel Brinegar said it’s sometimes easy to tell when people are there for a date.

“When I think people are on dates, when I’m totally snooping and presuming, they’re giggly, they’re laughing,” she said.

Though coffee is the main thing couples initially go to Last Exit for, Brinegar said, the variety of things to look through the store can make for good conversation topics for those on first dates.

“There’s so much to do here,” Brinegar said. “I can tell when people start getting a little restless, they can go into the bookstore.”

Brinegar has also noticed couples at the store on dates have some specific habits when they are at the shop at 124 E. Main St. downtown. 

“In the café, they tend to take a bit longer to pick their drinks and kind of base their drinks on what the other person’s getting,” she said.

In the café section of Last Exit, there are multiple little sections of seating. Brinegar said that when couples come there for dates, they often choose to sit in a specific, more secluded section of the seating area.

“I’ve noticed they tend to sit over where that partition is, kind of like a little intimate seating area,” she said.

Last Exit also often hosts events couples can attend like live musicians and poetry readings and can be contacted at (330)-677-4499.

“It’s a good hangout spot,” Brinegar said.

THIRD: Belleria

For couples looking for a classic sit-down restaurant date night, they can stop by Belleria Pizza and Italian Restaurant in downtown Kent.  

Olivia Moore, a Belleria employee and freshman fashion design major, said she sees a lot of couples coming to the restaurant together. 

“We get a lot of two-top tables,” she said. 

Moore said she can usually tell when a couple is there on a date, especially if it might be a first date.

“It’s the nervous energy, or the opposite of nervous energy,” she said. “If it’s going well or not as well.”

Moore said Belleria is a nice place for a date because the food is familiar. The restaurant offers many pizza and pasta dishes.

“It’s easy, everyone knows Italian food,” she said.

The restaurant, located at 135 E. Erie St., offers wines, beers and specialty cocktails. Belleria also features monthly food and drink specials that could provide something new for couples to try.

Another aspect that makes the restaurant a good spot for a date is the view it offers of downtown Kent, which could spur conversation topics for newly forming relationships, Moore said.

“I also think we have a pretty good view of downtown by the windows,” Moore said.

Moore said she was not surprised that Belleria was one of the finalists for best date spot.

“It makes sense to me, because I think we’re really great, and we’re in a really great spot, we got really good food,” she said.

Belleria can be contacted at (330)-678-6000.

Addison Foreman is a general assignment editor. Contact her at [email protected].