Octave Cafe, Bar and Music Venue will Open Downtown

YOUNGSTOWN – Octave restaurant and bar will open in early October in the downtown space that was formerly occupied by Suzie’s Dogs and Drafts.

Owned by Gary Reynolds, Jay Simon and Micah Hall Sr., Octave will also have an event room that can be rented for parties, meetings other occasions. The event space is in the adjacent – and interconnected – room that was formerly Rhine Haus bar and restaurant. Both businesses are on the Phelps Street pedestrian corridor.

Suzie’s and Rhine Haus both closed earlier this year.

Octave will primarily be a restaurant, with a menu offering soul food and American-fusion small plates, according to Simon. “It will be more of a café than like the bar that used to be here,” he said.

Octave will put an emphasis on live music and has a stage. Reynolds, who is known locally as DJ Kickdrum and owns a sound production company, will handle sound.

The co-owners are taking measures to improve the sound quality in the room. They will utilize a state of the art sound board and speaker system, according to Reynolds.

“Our goal is to provide a new source of entertainment,” Simon said. “Your main course is going to be the music. The food will be your side.”

Octave will be the first bar owned by the three Youngstown men, and also will mark their first business collaboration.

“We’re all musicians,” Reynolds said. “We used to get together at The Federal [bar and restaurant] and also come in here for open mic night every Wednesday. It was a hit, but then COVID happened.”

When the nightlife scene resumed, the three decided to team up and start their owner business with a musical theme.

“We looked for a space for two years and then came across this place,” Reynolds said. “It expanded our [plan], because having two spaces meant we could also have a rental hall.”

Octave will hire a staff of about 15 or 20. While its days and hours of operation have not yet been set, the ultimate goal is to be open all day, and not just in the evening, Reynolds said.

Guests can get their first glimpse of Octave on Sunday evening. “We are having a soft intro that night, beginning at 7 p.m., after the Jazz in the Park series concert,” Simon said. The bar will be open, and some vendors will be present.

The Jazz in the Park show, featuring vocalist Arielle Green-Hall, will start at 3 p.m. in Wick Park.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.