Downtown Youngstown Opens, Welcomes Back the Valley at Event

YOUNGSTOWN – The goal of The Open was to reacquaint Valley residents with downtown Youngstown as a center for nightlife. With the help of gorgeous weather and some great live music, the Saturday event succeeded with flying colors.

Several hundred people had gathered by 5 p.m., soaking up the sun and the sounds on West Federal Street. Two blocks of the street were closed to traffic, and a stage was set up.

Many more showed up as day turned to night and the Youngstown State University football game and the Youngstown Phantoms hockey game let out.

Restaurants were busy with diners, including many on the patios at West 34, V2, Gringo’s and The Federal.

Dan Martini, co-owner of The Federal, was selling sausage sandwiches and hot dogs from a vendor cart.

“We’ve been busy so far,” he said. He expected the crowd to grow rapidly as a 9:45 p.m. performance by rock band Red Wanting Blue, the evening’s headliner, drew near. “I hope we don’t run out of food!,” he said.

Also performing were Howard Howell, Blaq Rose, and The Houseband.

Martini was glad to be able to again use his old-school street vendor cart, saying he used to sell food from it every weekend before the pandemic, when downtown was bustling.

The Federal closed after The Open  to decorate for its annual transformation into Miracle on Federal Street – a pop-up restaurant with an over the top Christmas theme. Decorating the dining room takes several days.

The restaurant has been changed into “Miracle” every holiday season for the past few years, and the effort has proved popular with customers.

Elsewhere on Federal Street, a Wahaka Taco food truck was serving up Mexican food. Wahaka Taco is owned by Mark Canzonetta, whose flagship restaurant, Case di Canzonetta in downtown Youngstown, had a stream of dinner patrons.

The Downtown Open was put together by the city and several sponsors, including presenter 717 Credit Union, to announce that the closed streets – which had been the norm since the pandemic – are now open. 

Downtown’s role as a center for dining, entertainment and nightlife has taken a hit in recent years, starting with the pandemic-related shutdowns and continuing through several years of street projects and then the May explosion at Realty Tower. The detours made travel confusing  – and a deterrent for  folks who used to come downtown on a regular basis.

Scott Terry, singer for Red Wanting Blue, was watching Howard Howell perform early in the evening. His band has long been a favorite in Youngstown, and Terry said he was happy to be part of the event.

“We drove all night from New York to get here,” he said. Terry hadn’t been downtown for quite a few years, and said the landscaping islands look great.

While R&B, jazz and rock music was in the air along West Federal Street, the Youngstown Film Festival was a quiet and dark respite.

The festival took place inside 6 W. Federal St. – formerly a Chase Bank branch. The ornate bank lobby was transformed into a theater for the event, and movie lovers came and went all day.

Adam Michael, founder and director of the film festival, said the response had been amazing.

“We’ve had filmmakers from all over the country come in, and we interviewed them and did Q&As with them,” he said. “We had people who were at [The Open] pop in and say, ‘we saw the signs and came in. We didn’t even know there was a film festival in town.’”

The YFF received a record 300 submissions and selected 25 for screening.

Michael said he was happy to make his event part of The Open.

“It makes me feel like the Youngstown Film Festival is part of the city,” he said, thanking city officials for their support.

Before Red Wanting Blue took the stage, John Demmler, CEO of 717 Credit Union, announced that 717 will give out $250 worth of gift cards usable at downtown businesses for every car loan it approves. The promotion, dubbed Forever Youngstown, will last until the credit union gives out $1 million in gift cards.

Pictured at top: A crowd had assembled by early evening on West Federal Street, downtown, for The Open.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.