Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad dining cars may be hottest ticket in Cleveland

CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO) - “All aboard!”

It’s the hottest ticket in Cuyahoga County right now.

Since the Cuyahoga Scenic Valley Railroad collaborated with Spice Kitchen & Bar to create a dining experience on board the newly acquired Zephyr dining cars, fans of both have been flocking to the Rockside Station to take the two-hour adventure through the Cuyahoga Valley.

The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad added the impressive addition to its train collection in September of 2018 when four historic Zephyr rail cars rolled into the Rockside train station in Independence.

“It’s something that we have never had here in northeast Ohio,” Katie Brewer, CVSR spokesperson said. “It’s takes you back to when rail travel was the thing to do.”

CVSR acquired two Vista Dome cars, a baggage car, and a sleeper car, that were part of the California Zephyr train set that rode from California behind the impressive Nickel Plate steam locomotive no. 765.

“We think it will be a game changer,” president and CEO of the CVSR Joe Mazur told crowds gathered that day.

Mazur may have been right.

The program “Dinner on the Train with Spice” has sold out through May.

However, the railroad will bring the dinner back during the summer months.

“Just working on a train this beautiful is really cool,” Caroline Dillabaugh, Spice Kitchen & Bar event planner said.

Dillabaugh and the crew had to create a meal in a limited space.

“It’s such a cramped space,” Dillabough said, “how do you bring the bring the most amount of flavor to a dish.”

“It’s awesome to talk to people, they’re excited about it,” Dillabough said about sharing the experience with a “bunch of different people.”

“It’s romantic, it’s intimate, if you’re celebrating an anniversary, if you just want to have fun, get out, try something new, it’s just a really great time,” Brewer said.

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