Bistro 1907 Brings Parisian Flair to American Cuisine
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Mark Canzonetta swirls the wine in his glass, takes a sip and reacts almost instantly.
“That’s good,” he declares as he sets his glass down before a selection of other bottles of reds and whites, some of which might be one of the many varieties Canzonetta hopes to have on hand when Bistro 1907 opens its doors next month.
Canzonetta, a local chef and former partner at Aqua Pazzo in Boardman, is bringing his talents to downtown Youngstown as the owner of Bistro 1907, on the ground floor of the new DoubleTree hotel still under construction.
The name of the new restaurant pays homage to the year the 12-story Stambaugh Building was built, which when renovated will house the 125-room hotel.
As Canzonetta and the restaurant’s general manager, Michael Yannacey, sampled wines Friday, workers were busy installing the metal framing of the restaurant’s interior, which will include a 15-foot high wine rack behind the bar with a library ladder so that servers can retrieve bottles with ease, much as restaurants do in Paris.
While the planned décor of Bistro 1907 might possess Parisian flair, its cuisine is 100% born in the U.S.A.
“We’re going to take regional American food that you grew up with and I grew up with, Canzonetta said. “And we’re going to put a modern twist on it and make it relevant again.”
Bistro 1907 will serve traditional American foods – even his mother’s meatloaf, Canzonetta said, along with creative dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The restaurant will also serve the banquet center on the 12th floor of the hotel and its small bistro in the lobby on the second.
Moreover, all of the meals will be made from scratch and incorporate as much nearby farm produce as possible, Canzonetta said. “Everything is going to be craft made every day,” he said.
Along with the American food concept is a new wine list, Canzonetta said. “We’re trying to put together a new wine list for the Valley that has some of the classic favorites from California, but try to incorporate things that aren’t on everybody’s list,” he says.
Between 18 and 24 wines will be featured on the restaurant’s pour list while 100 to 120 or so bottles will be stocked for patrons’ selection, Canzonetta said. Local beer makers will have an outlet at the new restaurant and the bar will also specialize in artisan cocktails.
“We’ve been sampling wines for the last three weeks with different vendors to see what fits,” said Yannacey. “We’re going to have a higher-end wine list, but also a nice house pour. It should go over really well to those who are new to wine and those who are enthusiasts.”
The trick is to provide a balance of entrance level wines suitable for offerings by the glass and some hard-to-find brands for devoted wine aficionados, noted Simon Kenneally, a vendor for Wine Trends.
“Faust, for example, is one that I have that is a cabernet out of California that’s a really great wine,” Kenneally noted.
In this case, wine vendors know Canzonetta’s tastes and they try to present what are likely strong candidates to match the restaurant owner’s palate, he said. “You look at the accounts you have to visit,” Kenneally said, “and try to choose the right wine that is going to fit their menu, their tastes and the profile they want for their restaurant.”
Although the name of the restaurant reflects a bygone era, the ambience of Bistro 1907 will also evoke a modern feel, Canzonetta said. “I envisioned Bistro 1907 as a modern, urban social gathering place with a twist back to a 1907 Parisian bistro,” he said. “It’s going to have a lot of different colors, textures and flavors. I try to make it a dining experience.”
The bar will be on the northern side of the restaurant and offer 20 stools, Canzonetta said, while the dining area is large enough to seat 160 and another 26 on the patio outside. In addition, the banquet hall seats 128 and there are two 50-seat sections on the second floor.
The mezzanine of the restaurant would be reserved for private dining and meetings, he said, and the first floor features an open-air kitchen.
“We’ll be providing all the food and beverage for the hotel,” Canzonetta said.
He projects that the restaurant would employ 70 to start out, but that could increase to roughly 100 when part-time workers and transitional team members are factored in, he said.
VIDEO:
Glimpse Inside Bistro 1907
Pictured at top: Michael Yannacey and Mark Canzonetta sample wines they may serve at Bistro 1907 when it opens next month.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
