Combine Brothers Moving into Landmark Restaurant Space

BOARDMAN, Ohio — As the long-time Landmark Restaurant prepares to close its doors, Combine Brothers – another regional staple – will take its place.

Crew 78, which purchased Combine Brothers of Hermitage, Pa., a few years ago, is expanding into Boardman area. By June, the company looks to open its doors at 7412 Market St. with a focus on carryout and online ordering, says Kevin McKee, managing partner of restaurant operations. It will be the restaurant’s second location and first in Ohio.

“It’s a great location on the corner of Market Street and U.S. Route 224. It’s a very high-traffic corridor,” McKee says. “We have a lot of customers that comes from this area, so we’re anxious to bring it closer to them.”

Since 1989, Combine Brothers has served customers in Hermitage with homemade Italian cuisine. Crew 78 plans to carryover that menu while enhancing it with more lunch options for the popular carryout trend, he says.

“We feel that’s the direction that the public is going,” McKee says. “They want something quick and they want something good.”

Combine Brothers will still have indoor seating for about 30 to 35 with the capacity to expand if necessary, he notes.

Indoor dining won’t be served at the table, adds Leonard Mochtyak, a partner with Crew 78.

“It’s going to be a little more along the lines of a Chipotle. You walk up, you place your order, you get your order and you take it out,” he says. “If we’ve learned anything from the last few years it’s that our product does very well as a carryout product.”

The company hopes to hire 30 to 35 initially, and will first look at some of the existing staff at Landmark he says.

Crew 78 had been looking to expand into the Youngstown area for some time, McKee says. When the Landmark building came available, it seemed like “a good area and good location,” he says.

Platz Realty Group agents Bill Kutlick and Don Thomas managed the sale of the 3,676-square-foot building. The price was not disclosed as of Monday afternoon.

The property was initially purchased in November 1989 by Rendano Brothers for $215,000, before being transferred to RRI LLC in 2003, according to the Mahoning County Auditor website.

Crew 78 looks to remodel the building’s exterior and interior to match the industrial decor of the Hermitage location, McKee says. The company is lining up subcontractors and plans to get to work with the upgrades soon after Landmark’s final day on Jan. 17. It will pursue a liquor license in November.

For nearly 18 years, The Landmark Restaurant has operated at the location. In a statement on Facebook, ownership of Landmark thanked its customer base and looked forward to seeing everyone “at least one last time before we close our doors.

“We have celebrated together, grown together and even mourned together,” the post stated. “This past year has not been kind to many families and businesses. We hope you will continue to support your local businesses as they need you most in these times.”

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.