Business Journal Classic: Phar-Mor and Monus Rode High with Community Pride
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – A late-breaking development as the August 1992 edition of The Business Journal was going to press upended our lead story – and the future of a much-celebrated hometown success story and its retail wizard.
It happened July 28, 1992, and came in the form of a news release that suggested something was amiss with a local leader in business, philanthropy and professional sports.
“Phar-Mor Replaces Monus as President” blared the quickly rewritten headline for our story about the milestone opening of the deep discount retail chain’s 300th store, in what was then the new Ashtabula Mall. Instead, the revised story reported Phar-Mor’s board of directors had appointed CEO David Shapira as president and chief operating officer, demoting Michael I. “Mickey” Monus, the chain’s champion, to vice chairman. READ MORE
Business Journal Classic: Tumultuous P. J. Schmitt Project
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Peter J. Schmitt Co. grocery distribution center in North Jackson that opened in 1989 amid much hoopla – and much controversy – operated for just a few years. The building, which today houses a much expanded fulfillment center for Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s, would herald the development of western Mahoning County into a warehousing and distribution hub.
But first came the turf war.
“Signed, Sealed, Almost Delivered – Schmitt Distribution Center Is Coming to North Jackson,” declared the front-page headline of the May 1989 edition of The Business Journal. Seneca, N.Y.-based Schmitt had executed a land option for 121 acres in North Jackson, where it had planned to construct a 600,000-square-foot grocery distribution center, the story reported. READ MORE
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Video: Giving the Valley a Lift for 40 Years
We’re celebrating 40 years of The Business Journal by looking back on our publication’s very first success story, the Western Reserve Transit Authority. WATCH
40 Years of The Business Journal
To commemorate our 40th year of proudly publishing The Business Journal, we’ll revisit economic development initiatives and newsmakers and ponder: What worked and what didn’t? Where are they now?
We could not foresee the changes that have taken place in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys since 1984, when the region was still reeling from Black Monday and seeking a quick-fix to move forward. READ MORE
