YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – A downtown bar will install an open-air front wall this summer, according to a plan announced by one of its owners.

Jeff Kurz, co-owner of Ryes Craft Beer & Whiskey, 124 W. Federal St., plans to replace a wall-size window at the bar with a clear-paned garage door that can be opened on warm days.

Ryes is on the second floor, above Imbibe Martini Bar, which Kurz also owns. The massive window at Ryes overlooks West Federal Street.

The new garage door will be the same size as the existing window – 16 feet by 8 feet. It will be the only open-air downtown barroom that is on an upper floor.

Kurz and Brad Schwartz, the other co-owner, submitted the project to the city’s design review committee in hopes of receiving a $10,156 facade grant. The total cost of the project is twice that amount: $20,312.

The committee will consider the request at its meeting Tuesday morning.

A permanent safety railing, with a drink ledge atop it, will be installed along the opening, giving patrons the ability to sit or stand next to it.

The project is part of several other improvements being made at Ryes.

“We’re refreshing our place, redoing the booths, getting new stools and expanding our offerings of drinks,” Kurz said.

The new open-air bar will be a nice summertime attraction for the nightlife district, he pointed out.

“We are reinvesting in downtown,” Kurz said. “We’re here for the long haul.”

He opened Imbibe in 2003 and added Ryes in 2014.

Imbibe specializes in martinis, which have become popular among the nightlife crowd.

“Business at Imbibe is skyrocketing lately,” Kurz said, noting that Ryes has also seen an uptick.

He noted that younger bar-goers are attracted to drinks that do not taste like alcohol, and Imbibe’s martinis fit that bill.

Ryes is also getting an updated drink menu to cater to the changing tastes, Kurz said.

The design review committee will consider two other projects at Tuesday’s meeting:

  • Stambaugh Auditorium is requesting approval for a full roof replacement. The existing roof is standing seam patinated copper, and the proposed replacement roof would be standing seam steel with a patinated copper finish to match the existing appearance.
  • Millcreek Millworks, 1421 Lilac St., is seeking a $12,000 facade grant for improvements to its parking lot and building. An 18-foot-by-55-foot concrete pad would be installed adjacent to the building, and the remainder of the gravel and dirt lot would be replaced with a new gravel lot. Garage doors and gutters would also be replaced as part of the $24,000 project.

Pictured at top: This architect’s rendering shows the clear-paned window-door that will be added to the front wall of Ryes Craft Beer & Whiskey.