NYO Still Working With Yosteria for Downtown Location

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Downtown developer Dominic Marchionda said he is still working with Yosteria owner Alex Zordich to find a location downtown for the Italian restaurant.

He also hasn’t ruled out the possibility it could wind up in the DoubleTree by Hilton Downtown Youngstown as originally planned, though Zordich acknowledges that isn’t likely.

Marchionda, managing partner of NYO Property Group, which developed the new downtown Youngstown hotel, reported more than half a dozen potential tenants, as well as brokers and realtors, reached out to him following news reports last week that Yosteria was not going to open in the hotel.

“We’re looking at all our options with Alex,” he said. “We definitely believe in his concept and we think it’s something that will work very well downtown … whether it’s in one of our buildings or in someone else’s.”

Zordich confirmed he is still working with Marchionda “to try to make something happen” but is in discussions with other parties as well. Yosteria now is operating in the B&O Station Banquet Hall near downtown.

“I’m working as hard as I can to try to find a spot downtown,” Zordich said. “As far as the DoubleTree, it’s not likely, but we’re looking at other routes.”

The restaurant, one of two expected to open in the hotel this summer, had been expected to occupy about 2,600 square feet of space. Marchionda anticipates having a deal stuck for the space within the next couple of months at the most, he said.

“We anticipate it to be occupied at some point here, but we’re still continuing to work with Alex,” he remarked. “We’re not giving up trying to work it out.”

He also said work is progressing with Branch Street Coffee Roasters, also expected to open in the hotel this summer. “We’ll finalize that sometime in the near future,” he said.

Bistro 1907, which opened about two months ago, around the time that the hotel opened, is “exceeding” the expectations of owner Mark Canzonetta and has become a popular night spot and lunch spot, Marchionda reported.

“The hotel is doing well and we’re going to continue to try to expand on the success,” he added.

On Tuesday, the City Planning Commission approved a waiver to establish a regulated use for Bistro 1907 within a 500-foot radius of other regulated uses within the Downtown Youngstown Entertainment District. Regulated uses under Youngstown ordinances include establishments that sell “beer or intoxicating liquor” for on-site consumptions, of which there are several downtown.

Other regulated uses include establishments that sell beer, wine or liquor for offsite consumption, tattoo parlors, adult bookstores and theaters, and secondhand stores.

Bistro 1907 received its liquor license, which was approved by City Council prior to the restaurant’s opening in May, Sarah DelliQuadri, an NYO representative, told the commission members.

Laura Fulmer, city zoning specialist, said she could not find any records on waivers for the restaurant site. Prior to Bistro 1907’s opening, three restaurants — Warehouse 50, Dooney’s Downtown and Buffalo Wild Wings, all of which served alcohol – operated in the space.

NYO officials were informed that the waiver was required, Fulmer said. “Something slipped through the cracks as far as it being applied for, and then they went ahead and opened,” she said. City officials subsequently went to NYO to remind the company the waiver was required.

The recommendation to approve the waiver will now go to City Council.

The commission also recommended the rezoning of two parcels on East Wood Street from Mixed Use Institutional to Industrial Green. The rezoning was requested by P & L Heat Treating & Grinding, 313 E. Wood St., to allow the company construct a 9,000-square-foot addition to its existing 25,000-square-foot building.

The addition will accommodate expansion of the business to accommodate increased demand. The company, founded in 1978, provides heat-treating services to harden metal parts and has 20 employees, Bill Pociask, president said.

The company has since expanded into forging dies and fabrications, and its clients include the nuclear industry and the aircraft industry, he said. The company handles one million tons of metal each year, from record styluses 6,000-pound components.

The planned $500,000 addition would accommodate incoming and outgoing work, and potentially an additional furnace. Work will begin as soon as the city’s design review committee approved plans and a needed variance is secured.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.