By Chris Pederson and the Raskobs
Some places have a way of keeping a little piece of every age you’ve ever been. Medina Entertainment Center is one of those places for me. As a teenager working at Highway 55 Rental across the street, I knew it as the neighbor on the other side of the road. In my younger adult years, it became a destination for concerts and events. Later came evenings with my Fields of Medina neighbors after rec league softball, bowling with my wife and kids, and many meetings that mixed business, pleasure and the local ties that stretch well beyond Medina. Somewhere along the way, that trip across the street turned into a trip through the chapters of my life. These days, I bring a few more years with me when I walk through the doors, along with memories of music, laughter and bowling balls with minds of their own. I imagine plenty of people around here could say much the same.
In late August, I had the honor of sitting down with siblings Mark, Paul, Brian and Robyn as they share the work, music and family memories behind a place generations of neighbors have made their own.
Where Memories are Made
When a couple returned to Medina Entertainment Center to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary, they came back to the place where they had held their wedding. For Paul Raskob, their visit was a reminder of what the family business has meant to people over the years: a place they return to because part of their own history happened there.
“It’s the traditions, the memories, the staff. It’s all about the people,” Paul says.
As Medina celebrates 70 years, the Raskob siblings have plenty of memories of their own. Mark, Paul, Brian and Robyn Raskob Walters grew up working in the business their parents, Bob and Geri, helped build. They learned to clean, serve, stock, keep the books and welcome customers, often before they were old enough to understand everything those responsibilities would eventually involve.
Today, the operation encompasses concerts, Robert’s Craft Kitchen & Bar, bowling, weddings, banquets, catering and the Medina Inn. Its history includes celebrated performers and busy weekends, but also loss, rebuilding and the daily work of keeping a family business going. Ask the siblings what they remember, and the conversation moves easily between those experiences and the people who made them matter.
Growing Up at Medina
Mark, Medina’s president and general manager, began with the cleaning. His father made sure he showed up.
“My dad was a good talker. He talked to everybody; he got to know everybody,” Mark recalls. “In the morning, when we had to go clean, sometimes I’d be late in bed and he’d grab my ankle: ‘Get up. Time to go to work.’ I started out cleaning and then went to bartending, started booking bands and did all kinds of different things.”
Paul followed a similar path, cleaning for several years before moving into the bowling center at about 13 or 14. Taking charge there meant building on what he knew and learning what he did not.
“I started managing the bowling center when I was about 18 years old, and it was a big step,” he says. “I knew a lot of the business and a lot of the customers, but there were a couple of things I didn’t know, like the computer scoring. I learned that.”
“I saw a lot of the same people every Monday who bowled in a league, every Tuesday, and built a lot of great friendships,” Paul says. “It was a good time. I enjoyed it immensely.”
For Brian, the youngest sibling involved in the business, an early memory comes from the rebuilding after the fire. His father was moving sprinklers on the back hill to help the grass grow. It was dark, and the day had been long, but Brian remembers feeling included in the work.
“Not long after that, I was helping him stock bottles in the liquor room,” he says. “He taught me how to face the bottles and have some pride in how you do stuff. That’s when I felt I started to get some skin in the game a little bit.”
Robyn began serving customers in the Victorian Room and bussing tables. Her preference for keeping things clean and organized eventually found another outlet in the office.
“Working in the office was really fun. I had to learn about computers because I didn’t know a lot about them,” she says. “They trained me, and I was the office manager. That was good.”
“In the front office I kept things organized, turned in the money each night, and explained to people what bands were playing so they’d buy the tickets,” she says.
Her responsibilities also included collecting bad checks, a task that could require persistence and uncomfortable conversations.
“I’d call them up and tell them, ‘You wrote a bad check here. You’ve got to come in and take care of this,’” Robyn recalls. “Some would say, ‘Oh, I did not.’ I’d say, ‘Yes, you did. I’ve got it right here.’”
The work varied, but each sibling learned the business through direct contact with the people who came through its doors.
Music and Memorable Performers
Bob’s connection to country music and polka helped shape Medina’s early entertainment identity. Mark’s enthusiasm for rock brought more artists into the mix. Booking shows grew out of the music he already enjoyed with friends and family.
“Garth Brooks—I didn’t book that one; Bob did—but that was cool,” Mark says. “Willie Nelson, I booked Willie, and Peter Frampton and Pat Benatar, Meat Loaf, all those guys.”
The Brooks appearance remains a favorite example of seeing an artist just before a much larger audience discovered him.
“Bob booked Garth Brooks on a Thursday, and we had seven hundred and some people,” Mark recalls. “Probably six, seven, eight weeks after that show, he exploded. He was selling out big venues and arenas.”
Medina had room for substantial crowds, and at the time there were fewer nearby venues competing for those shows. Mark remembers a period when people regularly went out to hear live music and Medina could bring major acts close to home.
What happened away from the stage could be just as memorable. Willie Nelson’s willingness to stay and meet people made an impression on Mark.
“He was up there for about two and a half hours signing [autographs], shaking hands, talking to people,” he says. “Super nice guy.”
Brian remembers musicians coming downstairs after their performances to spend time with fans. One conversation with Keith Urban, early in his career, particularly stayed with him.
“He was kind and gentle and wanted to get to know people,” Brian says. “I sat and talked with him for about 20 minutes, and he was focused on our conversation. Just a super nice guy.”
Then there are the stories that still make him laugh. After a FireHouse show in the mid-1990s, Brian was checking the building around 2:30 in the morning when he found a man waking up in a restroom.
“He asked, ‘Hey, what time’s the band?’ I had to inform him that he missed the show,” Brian recalls. “Don’t let the pregame wreck the game.”
Mark also remembers the straightforward way his father handled arrangements with performers. Bob might revise a contract’s hospitality requests, offering meal tickets, beer and water, but following through on his agreements mattered.
“He’d sign contracts and send them back, but his word was solid,” Mark says.
The business of booking entertainment has become more competitive. Casinos, amphitheaters and other venues give audiences more choices, while higher prices put pressure on what people can spend.
“Everybody’s fighting for the entertainment dollar and trying to get the shows,” Mark says.
Rebuilding and Adapting
The fire that destroyed the original building remains a painful part of the family’s history. Robyn was on her way to Minneapolis to choose bridesmaids’ dresses when she saw a cloud and turned back.
“It was the most horrible day of my life,” she says.
The loss of lives, more than the loss of the building, is what she remembers her father struggling to accept.
“Buildings are repairable. That’s what my dad kept saying: ‘The building’s repairable. Why did they have to be there?’ It was so sad,” Robyn recalls. “It took a long time to get over.”
The family rebuilt. Brian’s memory of helping his father on the grounds belongs to that chapter, when returning Medina to operation meant work inside and outside the building.
Later, the family expanded what the business could offer. Adding the Medina Inn created lodging next door for wedding guests, business outings and other visitors. Paul remembers both traveling salesmen and busy wedding weekends being part of the thinking behind it.
“We figured lodging right next door would help the entertainment side, weddings, business outings and whatnot,” he says. “So my dad and his two brothers built the Inn.”
The COVID-19 shutdown brought a different kind of challenge. When limited shows were possible, Mark says the family continued them to maintain a connection with customers.
“We wanted to keep our name out there. It wasn’t really a moneymaker, but it let people know we were still there and still doing shows.”
Some habits changed beyond the shutdown itself. Mark says the lunch business has not returned to its former level, with more people working from home. Customers’ expectations have changed in other ways, too. Brian remembers a beverage selection that once meant four beers and no wine, followed by an increasingly varied menu as people’s tastes developed.
“We wanted to create a nice space for everybody to enjoy,” Brian says. “It’s constantly changing; it’s a moving object.”
Keeping pace also requires investments customers may never notice. Paul, a vice president and owner, points to heating and cooling equipment, parking lots, signage, bowling technology and payment systems as part of an ongoing list.
“It’s something you have to do, but people don’t walk into your building and say, ‘Boy, I love your air conditioning,’” he says. “You have to do it. If you don’t, it’s going to catch up to you and it’s going to be a tough year.”
The People Behind the Business
Across the siblings’ different responsibilities, a recurring lesson from Bob was how to treat people. Paul remembers a father who expected work, understood mistakes and valued respect.
“Treat people with respect. Nobody’s perfect; we all make mistakes, but you learn from them and move on,” Paul says. “He was a very respectful man.”
Brian applies that approach to the staff. Getting to know employees and helping them through difficult days affects the experience they can provide for guests.
“I really like to get to know our staff and have a relationship with them, because I feel like they’re the driving force,” he says. “If they’re not happy, it’s hard to make guests happy. If they’re having a bad day, try to lighten it up, help them see the bright side of life for a while.”
The siblings also need that respect among themselves. Working together does not mean always agreeing. Brian believes differing opinions help the family make better decisions, provided people take time to understand one another.
“Try to be empathetic to the situation and see all sides. We’re all going to have different ideas,” he says. “If we all have the same idea, we’re probably not going to last. We need different ideas and respect for everybody’s ideas.”
“We don’t throw each other under the bus. That’s huge. You have to have that.”
The family’s relationships with customers have often extended into its own personal life. Mark says the brothers met their wives at Medina. Robyn met her husband, Tom, when he was attending a wedding there.
“Yeah, he was at a wedding and I thought, boy, he’s really hot!” she says.
In 1976, they celebrated their own wedding at Medina with approximately 700 guests. Robyn remembers her mother continuing to add people to the invitation list.
“I said, ‘Mom, you really can’t invite everybody!’ It was 700 people; that’s a lot of people to shake hands with,” she recalls. “Tom said, ‘Where did all these people come from?’”
Her mother, Geri, helped sustain the business behind the scenes. Robyn’s years in the office and as treasurer continued that work, and her daughter, Missy Miller, has carried the family’s involvement into catering and events. For Robyn, much of hospitality still comes down to knowing people and helping them understand what Medina can offer.
“We always try to know everybody,” she says. “We try to do the best we can explaining the different menus and what we have. I always liked that.”
Carrying the Family Legacy Forward
At 70 years, Medina’s future requires the same willingness to adapt that has helped it through earlier changes. Mark points to music preferences, the local economy and the area’s growth as factors the family must continue watching.
“You’ve got to change with the times, get the music that people want to go see,” he says. “We keep everything updated as far as the building, the interior and the outside. Keep it nice. Keep it a place where people want to go and have fun and enjoy.”
The food and the people preparing and serving it remain central to that effort.
“Everything we make is from scratch—our salad dressings, soups and all that,” Mark says. “We’ve got a good kitchen staff and good working staff, a lot of good people that make things happen for us.”
For Paul, passing along respect matters as much as passing along operational knowledge. The reward is seeing customers enjoy a place that gives them a break from the demands of everyday life.
“The thing I like best is to see smiles,” he says. “People come in here to get away from the noise and distractions, and we need that more than ever. That’s what I like best.”
Mark’s favorite moments bring him back to the crowds, the music and the connections made under this roof.
“I’d say the best part is having a big show and seeing so many people having a good time. Just good memories,” he says.
Those memories keep becoming reasons to return—for another concert, a familiar bowling league, dinner with friends or an anniversary meal five decades after a wedding. The Raskobs’ work continues in the everyday details that make those visits possible.
