WARREN, Ohio — The ceiling inside of the Buena Vista Cafe barroom is a work of art on the level of the Sistine Chapel. At least for those who worship and mythologize high school football around these parts.
The squat one-story restaurant, tucked into an East Side residential neighborhood, has been serving meals to Harding High School football players since Hall-of-Famer Paul Warfield was thrilling crowds at nearby Mollenkopf Stadium in the late 1950s. The walls are filled with autographed jerseys of collegiate and NFL stars. The shelves are lined with helmets from every level of the game.