Touch the Moon Looks to Reopen on W. Federal

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The owners of a downtown storefront plan to reopen the Touch the Moon Candy Saloon there.

The city’s design review committee approved plans by architects representing The Purple Cat, which offers day programs for adults with developmental disabilities, to renovate the façade of 107 W. Federal St.

Jack Rabbit LLC, a real estate entity affiliated, like Purple Cat, with Iron and Strong Life Enhancement Inc., acquired the West Federal Street building in 2011 from Youngstown Central Area Community Improvement Corp. for $30,000.

Tracie Kaglic, president of Olsavsky Jaminet Architects, presented plans to relocate the existing entry door, which is now recessed, closer to the street to be flush with the existing display windows, and to create separate street-level access to the building’s second floor.  

The long display windows leading to the existing doorway were “fine for shopping and displays,” but aren’t necessary for Purple Cat’s plans, Kaglic said,  

Purple Cat plans to run day activities for clients in the ground floor space, Jill Perencevic, director and co-owner, said. Those will include reopening the now-shuttered Touch the Moon Candy Saloon. The candy counter, located at 8 S. Phelps St., closed in early 2020 during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic and never reopened.

“That would become a place for our clients to work and for us to have a small mercantile for the community,” Perencevic said. “It would be bigger than our previous space but it would still be pretty quaint in there.”

In addition, a small, “easy and simple” breakfast and lunch counter is being considered to run in conjunction with the candy counter, she said. There are no set plans for the second floor, but apartment space is one possibility.

“At this time they are unsure what they wish to do with the second level but we do need to create a stair and have a sepaate means of egress to get access to that level,” Kaglic said.

There is no set timeframe for completing the work, Perencevic said. Beyond the façade upgrades, the building’s mechanical systems need to be checked to make sure they are in working order.

“We’ll just move in little phases and stages until we can get the project complete,” she said. 

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.