YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Mark Canzonetta recalls the precise moment when his world – and the world of others around him – was turned upside down.
“I was sitting at the back bar with my laptop and heard the loudest explosion I ever heard in my life,” Canzonetta says. “I felt the barstool shift and saw the front windows bubble.” Within seconds, the owner of what was then Bistro 1907 evacuated his patrons and staff from the restaurant, as debris and black smoke wafted across the patio.
The massive blast May 28 – caused by a worker who had cut into what was believed to be an unused natural gas pipeline – had blown apart the first floor and basement of the Realty Tower across the street. The blast killed one person – Chase Bank employee Akil Drake – and injured several others. “We went outside. We saw that there was mass destruction at the building,” Canzonetta recalls.
The tragedy of the Realty Tower explosion sent shockwaves through the entire city, and upended the lives of many. The DoubleTree hotel and the Bistro, which occupy the Stambaugh building, were shut down because the Realty building was at risk of collapsing. The Chase Bank branch on the ground floor of the structure was destroyed, and residential tenants in the building were evacuated and unable to immediately return to collect their belongings. The residents of International Towers next door were evacuated and relocated to other accommodations.
For Canzonetta, the incident added to an already difficult period for businesses in downtown Youngstown. Up to that point, his restaurant had weathered the impact of Covid-19 and endured the frustratingly slow pace of a large-scale street improvement project downtown, known as Smart2.
“Covid changed the restaurant business forever, and that’s something we had to overcome,” he says. “Then, we got saddled with the Smart2 program, which was very poorly executed by the city of Youngstown,” he says, because it limited access to downtown businesses.
The Realty Tower explosion occurred just as Canzonetta was regaining his footing, and downtown streets were gradually being reopened to traffic. Nevertheless, his business was now shuttered, and it wasn’t clear when – or if – it could reopen.
Phoenix Rising
In the days following the explosion, Canzonetta says he was unsure how to proceed. Friends, business associates, financial advisers urged him to cut ties with downtown and start anew elsewhere. “They told me to get out now while the getting is good,” he says.
Canzonetta decided to stay.
“I said ‘no,’” he says. “Downtown is where I made my bones. Downtown is where I want to be.” Since 2017 he had pumped a sizeable investment in the operation – “six figures,” he says. That financial commitment made it too difficult to walk away from his downtown location. Moreover, he wasn’t going to let cumbersome road projects, or a devastating explosion tear away his and his employees’ livelihoods.
Instead, the entrepreneur chef seized the opportunity to rebrand the restaurant and establish a new direction for the business.
“I figured Youngstown needed a Phoenix rising out of the ashes,” Canzonetta says. “Why don’t we transform the Bistro into an Italian restaurant, rise above all adversity and see if it brings people downtown?”
Canzonetta says he invested another $250,000 into renovations, overhauled the Bistro’s menu, and added hundreds of photographs on the walls depicting Italian heritage. In the wake of a tragedy, his new restaurant – Casa di Canzonetta – was born.
“We were closed for four months,” Canzonetta says, as officials and the property owner assessed how to deal with the damaged Realty Tower building. It wasn’t until June 17 that the building’s owner – YO Properties 47 LLC – announced it would have to raze the landmark structure. Demolition didn’t begin until July 12 and took more than a month to reduce the building to a point where it no longer posed a threat of collapse.
The DoubleTree reopened Aug. 21, and Canzonetta’s restaurant opened briefly under the name Federal 44 to serve hotel guests.
After a six-week renovation project, Casa di Canzonetta held its grand opening Oct. 2. “I was petrified the night before we opened,” he says. “I’ve never been petrified about opening anything.” The opening proved a resounding success, and he says downtown’s comeback is gaining momentum.
Rebuilding his business, though, came at a cost that far exceeded any renovation expenses. “I’ve lost at least $900,000 in business over the period,” he says of the time he was closed. “We’re still standing with our head held high.”
Returning Home
As downtown businesses struggle to rebound, others who live in the central business district are still unnerved over the explosion.
“It’s hard for me to look over there,” says Carol Welsch, a resident of International Towers, the 17-story apartment complex that houses those with disabilities or who are over the age of 62. “The person that died was my friend. I saw them take people out on stretchers.”
Welsch and approximately 170 other residents were evacuated in mid-June from the apartments, which sits just an alleyway apart from where Realty Tower stood.
“I relocated to Park Vista. It was hard, but I did get to take my cat with me,” she says. Others in the apartments found accommodations elsewhere, such as the Baymont by Wyndham hotel, she says, and were out 10 weeks. “At least we weren’t on the street.”
Walter Allen, another resident, says that he was “put out with no warning” and could not retrieve his belongings from his apartment before he was evacuated. “They wouldn’t let us get our stuff out and there were things missing when I got back,” he says.
Welsch says she’s happy to once again be in her apartment and is heartened by the sight of traffic returning to downtown. It is nevertheless difficult to shake off the lingering images of the tragedy and those who were impacted, she says.
Residents of Realty Tower were prohibited from returning in the wake of the explosion, leaving most of their possessions behind.
In a coordinated effort through the Youngstown Fire Department, on July 10 firefighters entered the building and were able to retrieve some of the residents’ belongings. Each resident was allotted a duffle bag that firefighters filled with belongings they listed.
Moving Forward
The setbacks experienced by downtown businesses over the past several years instilled a sense of resolve in many of them.
Canzonetta, for example, is quick to credit the other restaurants that remained faithful to downtown during the crisis years. “All my friends along Federal Street stayed. We’ve been strong, resilient in a time of crisis and came through it really well.”
The task ahead is to forge a path forward and reestablish downtown Youngstown as a destination spot for the entire Mahoning Valley, business leaders say.
Guy Coviello, president and CEO of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, says a committee consisting of downtown stakeholders – mostly businesses and organizations – has met weekly in order to provide guidance to the city administration on how to best leverage the central business district’s assets and return it to the vibrancy that existed before the pandemic.
The committee meetings have not been bogged down with finger-pointing or excessive complaining, according to Coviello.
“No one looked back,” he says. “It was all about moving forward.”
These committee meetings over the last several months helped generate new ideas for bringing downtown back to life, Coviello says.
Among the concepts that emerged was the The Open, a downtown-wide celebration Oct. 19 that featured music and entertainment designed to draw folks to the city. Another was the successful request for a $50,000 Vibrant Communities grant from JobsOhio to develop a strategic plan for downtown.
The Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber Foundation contributed $25,000 in matching funds toward the project, while the city chipped in another $25,000. Together, the project received $100,000 to develop the plan.
“We want to make sure there is open communication to take advantage of throngs of people coming downtown,” Coviello says. “Another thing that came out of the committee was a DORA,” an acronym for designated outdoor refreshment area, which allows patrons to consume alcoholic beverages outside of establishments in designated areas of downtown.
Nick Chretien, executive director of the Economic Action Group, says his organization has been involved with downtown issues and concerns for more than a decade, and is working with other partners to develop short-term and long-term strategies for the central business district. The group plans to interview as many as 100 stakeholders and distill their ideas, he says.
“The short-term would be some of the basics, such as parking, signage, that sort of stuff,” Chretien says. Future development could entail concepts on the ideal mixture of professional, retail, cultural and other downtown amenities.
“That’s more of a three-to-five-year strategy,” he says. “There’s definitely a lot of momentum.”
As for Canzonetta, he says his refreshed approach to the business is already producing positive results. “Weekdays are busy, and if you don’t have a reservation on Friday or Saturday, it’ll be difficult getting in,” he says.
As an example, Canzonetta points to the November performance of comedian Sebastian Maniscalco at Covelli Centre, which drew approximately 7,400 people. “It really showcased what Youngstown is all about,” he reflects. “All of the restaurants were packed. It was great.”
Yet challenges remain. Canzonetta emphasizes that downtown needs to thrive with professional offices once again, additional retail shops and a grocery store.
“We need to fill these office spaces,” he says, gesturing to a building outside his restaurant’s front window.
Despite the setbacks, Canzonetta is unabashedly energetic about downtown. “I think it’s coming back. I see it,” he says. “I’m optimistic for my business. I’m optimistic for Youngstown.”
Pictured at top: Mark Canzonetta’s resolve to open a new restaurant downtown makes him our impact maker of the year.