New Owners Plan to Open Bar on Site of Former O’Donold’s
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – A new sports pub and eatery to be called Guins will open later this summer in the downtown building formerly occupied by O’Donold’s Irish Pub and Grill.
Penguin Entertainment Group is the new owner and operator of the space at 122 W. Federal St. The building has been vacant since O’Donold’s closed in March after 11 years.
O’Donold’s was owned by Christian Rinehart of Cleveland, who also owned Suzie’s Dogs and Drafts and Rhine Haus, both on North Phelps Street pedestrian mall. Those places also closed this year.
Before it was O’Donold’s, the building housed The Lemon Grove, a coffee shop, bar and live music venue that opened in 2009 and moved out of the building in 2012.
The owners of Penguin Entertainment Group, who did not reveal their names in a press release, have begun a renovation of the space. The windows are covered over in paper that blocks the view from the outside.
Penguin Entertainment plans to open Guins, which it describes as “a gastropub,” in time for the start of the fall semester of Youngstown State University, according to the press release. The name, Guins, is a reference to the YSU Penguins.
The opening of the bar is the first phase of Penguin Entertainment’s plans for the property. “Over the next year, three additional … concepts will be unveiled,” according to the press release.
Guins will “celebrate the essence of Youngstown State University and its vibrant student community,” the release states. “The concept will evoke nostalgia for the work ethic, athletics and spirit of the Mahoning Valley, while remaining accessible and familiar to the patrons of [the bars that preceded it on the site].”
Penguin Entertainment Group “is committed to preserving the spirit of community and artistic expression while bringing new and exciting atmosphere in the revitalized space,” the release states.
Pictured at top: The site of the former O’Donold’s Irish Pub and Grill in downtown Youngstown.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
