Wednesday, January 07, 2015YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Al Adi says he is just listening to his customers by expanding his Downtown Circle.
By spring, the downtown convenience store, at 116 W. Federal St., will expand by adding a lounge in the rear of the building and a second entrance on West Commerce Street. It opened four years ago. “I’m concentrating more on the food,” he said Tuesday.
In addition to the typical items in a convenience store such as snacks, a coffee bar, tobacco products and alcoholic beverages, Downtown Circle has a hot-food section that features Mediterranean fare along with deli items. “It’s very healthy, very good for you,” Adi said.
The front of the store offers tables where customers can sit to eat and drink, but the lounge space will offer additional seating in a more casual atmosphere. There customers will be waited on at the tables.
“It’ll be a great place to have a business luncheon or just meet with a friend here and just chat and relax,” said Ronald Cornell Faniro of Faniro Architects Inc., Youngstown, architect on the project.
Seating remains in the front of the store for patrons who want grab something, eat quickly and leave.
At its meeting Tuesday, the city’s design review committee approved Adi’s request to add a door and windows to create a second entrance on East Commerce. A sign similar to the backlit box sign above the West Federal entrance was approved as well, along with an awning.
“Basically it’s just creating a new entrance off Commerce Street, giving some vitality to that side of the building,” Faniro said. Adi is working with Jenkins Signs on the new signage, he added.
The expansion will add about 1,600 square feet to Downtown Circle, which opened with 6,000 square feet, Adi said. He expects the project to cost about $30,000 and anticipates opening the lounge in late March or early April.
“I always listen to my customers,” Adi said. He also is working to secure the necessary permits to serve beer, wine and spirits in the lounge.
His customers are an eclectic mix of downtown business and government workers, including bankers, tenants of the newer apartments and low-income units that have been here for several years, and students from Youngstown State University. “So we have a mixture of different clientele that come in the store,” he said.
Adi, whose background includes running convenience stores, service stations and an IGA grocery store, said he was inspired to open a store here about six years ago when he and his wife came downtown. “I’ve seen how things were coming back to downtown and Youngstown,” he said. “A store like this was needed in this area.”
Even so, opening the store involved talking “a little bit of a chance,” he acknowledged.
“It went beyond my expectations,” he said. “I’m thankful to my customers, to everybody who supported my idea and supported the business.”
Along with the lounge, Adi plans to add a fenced-in patio outside the new entrance in space he now uses for parking. He also expects to add employees. The store employs 15, and he anticipates adding at least five or six workers once the lounge opens.
Pictured: Al Adi, owner of the Downtown Circle.
Copyright 2015 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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