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Downtown Tiffin Named Finalist for Three Heritage Ohio Awards

September 1, 2026

Three projects recognized for historic preservation, rehabilitation and downtown business development  

TIFFIN, OHIO – September 3, 2026 – Three Downtown Tiffin projects and businesses have been named finalists for 2026 Heritage Ohio awards, recognizing work in historic preservation, building rehabilitation and downtown business development.

Tiffin Community Kitchen, the Spivey Manley House and Big Mike’s were each selected as finalists in separate categories.

Tiffin Community Kitchen, located at 90 Jefferson Street, is a finalist for Best Commercial Rehabilitation. Completed in 2025, the approximately $2.8 million project created a 4,000-square-foot teaching kitchen and community gathering space as part of the historic Old Trinity Episcopal Church campus.

The facility now hosts culinary education, workforce development, ServSafe certification, children’s programs, community meals, pop-up lunches and other programming while creating new opportunities for local chefs, farmers, entrepreneurs and organizations.

The Spivey Manley House, located at 14 Madison Street, is a finalist for Best Residential Restoration.

Owners Pete and Linda Auger completed the privately funded rehabilitation in 2025, saving a home that had sat vacant for decades and had repeatedly faced demolition.

The property was the longtime home of Spivey Manley, one of Tiffin’s earliest African American settlers and a successful 19th-century entrepreneur. The rehabilitation preserved important historic features while addressing extensive structural deterioration and adapting the property for modern residential use. Original materials were also salvaged and reused throughout the home, along with interpretive elements honoring Manley and his family.

Big Mike’s, located at 274 S. Washington Street, is a finalist for Main Street Business of the Year.

Owners Danny and Katie Perry purchased the former Uncle Mike’s Dairy Bar property in 2021 and completed an extensive renovation before opening Big Mike’s in December 2022. The restaurant was named in honor of Danny’s late father, Mike Perry, while continuing the longtime “Mike” connection associated with the property.

The Perrys transformed the location into a year-round, family-oriented restaurant and helped revitalize an important southern gateway into Downtown Tiffin. Big Mike’s has also become an active community partner through its Days of Giving, Blessing Box, support of schools and nonprofits, partnerships with other local businesses and involvement in downtown events. The restaurant also serves as the home base for the Tiffin Pedal Company.

The three finalists represent different ways local investment, historic preservation and entrepreneurship continue to strengthen Downtown Tiffin.

The 2026 Heritage Ohio Award Ceremony will take place Wednesday, September 30, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the historic Woodward Theatre in downtown Cincinnati. The ceremony is part of the 2026 Heritage Ohio Annual Conference and is free and open to the public.

About Downtown Tiffin

The revitalization of downtown Tiffin began in 2011, when a group of community members came together to form “Tiffin Tomorrow”, with the goal of promoting and encouraging economic development in Downtown Tiffin, and creating plans, programs, and actions to ensure long-term vitality and prosperity. In 2014, the City of Tiffin contracted with SIEDC to act as the downtown organization and “Tiffin Tomorrow” came under the SIEDC (now TSEP) umbrella as the “Downtown Development Board,” which serves as the governing board of the downtown organization. In 2015, Tiffin joined Heritage Ohio’s Main Street Program. For more information, click here.

About Heritage Ohio

Heritage Ohio promotes economic growth through the preservation and revitalization of downtowns and neighborhoods across Ohio. Heritage Ohio is the coordinating agency for the Ohio Main Street Program and is the designated statewide Ohio preservation partner with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Through saving the places that matter we can all build a community and live better. Learn more about how to become involved by visiting www.heritageohio.org.

About Main Street America

Main Street America leads a movement committed to strengthening communities through preservation-based economic development in older and historic downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts. For more than 40 years, Main Street America has provided a practical, adaptable, and impactful framework for community-driven, comprehensive revitalization through the Main Street Approach™. Our network of more than 1,600 neighborhoods and communities, rural and urban, share both a commitment to place and to building stronger communities through preservation-based economic development. Since 1980, communities participating in the program have generated more than $101.58 billion in new public and private investment, generated 168,693 net new businesses and 746,897 net new jobs, rehabilitated more than 325,119 buildings, and levered over 33.7 million volunteer hours. Main Street America is a nonprofit subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. For more information, visit mainstreet.org.

 
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