Urban Tap Will Open Thursday in Downtown Warren
WARREN, Ohio – Urban Tap distillery and restaurant will open Thursday, bringing a first-of-its-kind nightlife option to downtown Warren.
The business at 439 E. Market St. – two blocks east of the Robins Theatre – is owned by Matt MacGregor, his wife, Stacy, and his brother, Jesse.
Matt and Stacy are also part of the ownership team of Extreme Air trampoline parks in Niles and Boardman, and former owners of Deep Freeze Ice Arena in Boardman.
Urban Tap features a 150-seat dining room and bar area, plus a massive patio.
It will begin distilling vodka, bourbon and rum on-site once the restaurant is up and running smoothly – hopefully by the end of the year, according to Matt MacGregor.
While the MacGregors now live in Vienna, Matt is a Warren native and wants to be part of its renaissance.
“I grew up three blocks away from the buildings that we bought [for Urban tap],” he said. “I watched Warren go from thriving to everyone losing their jobs, infested with crime, houses abandoned and buildings being torn down. But I saw the opportunity, and now we are on the front side of what Warren will be in 10 years.”
When complete, the co-owners will have well over $1 million invested in Urban Tap.
The MacGregors three years ago bought three adjacent properties for the project: the main structure, a neighboring house and a brick building that was constructed in the 1800s. The house was torn down to become a parking lot, with plans to add a rental venue for parties and meetings.
The brick building will become a banquet hall.
Urban Tap is the first restaurant the MacGregors have owned, and they are putting an emphasis on pleasing their customers from the start. A staff of 50 has been hired, and that number will double as the next phases of the development open in coming months and years.
Local artists were brought in to create the décor.
Head chef John Donaldson will preside over a kitchen that will produce “casual and fun food,” MacGregor said. The menu will include smash burgers, salads, wraps and other handhelds, flatbread pizzas and steak.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
