Earthworks Cafe & Lounge, Newark OH

Opening morning was a bit rough, but as to be expected. While service was slow, the coffee, biscuits & gravy, and scones were all delicious. The biscuits & gravy were definitely the stars of the morning.

The seating is plentiful and it seems like it will be a cool spot to hang out and socialize as they build things out. Once they get the patio to have railing and can open it up they will provide a lot of outdoor seating as well.

My only complaint currently is that their music is too loud and positioned directly in seating areas which makes having conversations difficult.

Update 11/18/23 8am: Disappointingly does not seem like there has been any improvement from previous experience. Prepared food is not served until 10am despite opening at 8am. Pastry I was served was made on 11/10 according to the date on the bottom, was rock hard and inedible. It was also the ONLY pastry option and the last one unless you wanted pumpkin pie for breakfast. This early in the morning is recommend only coming for coffee, which even that is just okay. Their full menu at other times of the day look good, but have never personally experienced. For now, I think I'm done trying to come here for my morning stop. Rather disappointing, the place seems to have a lot of potential.

This is such a great place to meet up with friends. The aesthetic is great, the vibe is great, the food is good, the service is awesome, you can't go wrong here.

Nice place in the Newark Station building. Really nice staff and good food. Had the Big Todd burger and it was juicy and flavorful. The sweet potato waffle fries were also good.

Had a great brunch here with friends! Atmosphere is always on point and our server (wish I could remember his name) was awesome. Food was good overall! Hashbrowns were a little sad but everything else that was ordered at the table looked great!

We've gone for coffee and breakfast. The cappuccino (served in a proper mug) was excellent as was the cinnamon scone eaten to jazz. The decor and ambiance manages to be relaxed and industrial at the same time. Reconstruction to brunch chef use hot oil to grill hash browns crisp; use salt and butter for more flavor in omelette.

My mom and I came in for brunch on a Sunday. We were greeted upon walking in. Great service and the food was good too. I got the chicken and waffles with a vanilla iced coffee. Will definitely be back to check put their dinner menu!

Cool place near downtown Newark. Had weekend brunch and was wss very good. Try the biscuits and gravy or the breakfast burger. It is going to be exciting to watch as this place grows and offers even more to the community.

Great food, service, and drinks! Bartenders Emmet & Ian are SO friendly, attentive, and kind! The atmosphere here is also wonderful, I'm so grateful to have somewhere like this locally in Newark. I highly recommend checking it out! Great place to bring friends and family.

I was going to rate 3 stars, but the 4th star was mainly for the roast beef sandwich - VERY good. Moist, incredibly tender beef.
We visited on a Sunday around 5pm. EXCELLENT service, but that may have been due in part to the complete lack of customers. Very comfortable atmosphere, more like a coffee house or someone’s living room than a stuffy restaurant; lots of comfy chairs, couches, stools, etc.to choose from.
A very limited menu with maybe a dozen choices.
I ordered a soft pretzel appetizer (they were out of the fried mushrooms), an asian salad, a soft drink, and my wife had a cocktail and the aforementioned roast beef sandwich with chips.
The sandwich was EXCEPTIONAL, and with the exception of the dipping sauce for the pretzel (a floury gravy/cheese mixture we didn’t really care for) the food was… good. The pretzel itself was large, fried, and had a pleasant texture.
The salad was good, the cocktail was good. The chips were chips, and the soda was soda.
Again, the service was great - attentive and very friendly, and on top of things at all times.
The problem was the prices. We chose some of the cheapest options on the menu, which amounted to more of a light lunch, and still spent $50 plus tax and tip. Most of that was the cocktail- $13 - a definite splurge on our date night, and costing as much as my wife’s sandwich.
I don’t think this would be the place for us to have a real meal; the 12oz ribeye dinner alone would have been $37.
There was obviously vast amounts of money spent on the decor and rebuilding of this historic location, and the fabulous interior certainly reflects that. And if you’re looking for an upscale place to grab drinks and splurge on a limited menu, you could do far worse than the Earthworks- we highly recommend the roast beef.

There's a nice concrete ramp available in addition to steps. This is a wide open place with plenty of room between tables. There is quite a bit of echo in there, so it is noisy. We found we had to speak pretty loudly for those across the table from us to hear. We can imagine people having to shout when it's a full house. This can be by design, but I don't know if it was their intention here.

There's plenty of light from two long walls of windows in the form of big glass roll-up garage doors. It was pretty warm inside the day we visited. The dining chairs are the bent tubular steel kind, springy and comfortable with upholstered cushions. There are also some conversation areas with long, minimalist upholstered sofas. We wished these were a little taller. It would be great if they would add some comfy seats that stand a bit higher for those with mobility challenges.

Our servers were friendly and engaging. We waited just shy of 30 minutes for half our party's order. The two members of our party who ordered food that did not require cooking were served their orders right away. However, they were not given silverware so couldn't eat. No one stopped by to acknowledge the delay on our order or to check to see if anyone needed anything. When we flagged down a different server to ask for silverware, we asked about our omelets. We waited a half hour for our omelets altogether.

That said, the omelettes were nicely plated, fresh and hot, with shredded Swiss cheese, fresh mushrooms, and spinach. The fresh fruit I subbed for the potatoes was great. It was fresh watermelon, strawberries, and blueberries. I especially liked how the watermelon was cut into small pieces so it didn't overwhelm the other flavors. The hash browns were disappointing, not crispy, and a bit undercooked.

The coffee was fantastic. We had a dark roast and loved how smooth it was. It had the great caramelized roasty richness without the bitterness some roasts have. Man that was good coffee!

Overall, we enjoyed our visit and plan on returning. We've missed Caribou coffee and this has a similar comfortable, casual vibe. We love how bright it is. That the seating is so comfortable is a bonus! We could see meeting friends here for board games and drinks. We look forward to checking out some of the live music, too.

Awesome atmosphere, great food, excellent service! Love this place, found it by mistake - but what a happy accident!

Been going here every morning since we bought our house. Great coffee and service.

Update: Came back for dinner tonight and got the Sesame Salad with Salmon. It was great. The beer and liquor selection is also top notch.

I've been here in both the morning and at night and the front of house service is solid, as well as the quality of the food and beverages that they're serving. This place rules.

Best burger I've had in quite a while! We went right after they opened so they were still working out some kinks with timing the food but I would say over all it's a great place.

I didn’t eat, so I can’t comment on the food but it looked amazing what they’ve done with the existing warehouse is night and day service is excellent and atmosphere is equally as excellent. Can’t wait to come back and try to stay. Keep up the great work!

Beautiful, modern atmosphere with a light breakfast menu. Fantastic service and ample seating.

Tried the matcha there and it was delicious! Emily the barista let me watch her make it and even had nutrition facts. Going in tomorrow for another one:)

Tried this new place and I am soooo glad I did! Besides the amazing coffee I had (which they grind in house for you) the barista was incredibly kind and helped me with any questions I had! I will definitely will be returning, thanks for a great coffee and calming atmosphere earthworks cafe!