The Slovak J Club continues to carry Akron’s Slovak heritage forward, one bowling frame, monthly dinner and weekly fish fry at a time.
It’s a reminder that, more than a century ago, immigrant communities here built spaces meant to last — and that Akron’s history doesn’t just sit in archives. It still shows up for dinner.
To see for yourself, head over to 485 Morgan Ave. and grab a plate. Today, the space — also called the Jednota Club (“jednota” is Slovak for “union”) — has evolved from an ethnic fraternal club into a social space open to the wider community.
Slovaks in Akron, from bowling to fried fish
More than a century before the Jednota Club entertained with its old-school bowling lanes, monthly dinners and weekly Lenten fish fries, Slovaks emigrated to the U.S. in the late 19th century, settling in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Many of them worked in dangerous coal mines, steel mills and other factories.
The first Slovak immigrants arrived in Akron in 1890 from Bohemia and Moravia (regions of the present-day Czech Republic) and Slovakia, according to an Oct. 25, 1942, article in the Akron Beacon Journal. The countries were under the rule of the Austro-Hungarian Empire…