Restaurant to Open in Youngstown Club Space
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- George Guarnieri is tackling head on the notion he says he heard from people who said restaurant patrons won’t go to the top floor of downtown’s Commerce Building to dine out.
“We’re not afraid of the fifth floor. We want to let the customer know that’s where we are,” Guarnieri said. In fact, “The Fifth Floor” is what the veteran restaurateur is calling his new restaurant, which will be open on the upper level of the two floors formerly occupied by the Youngstown Club.
The format of the new restaurant will be casual fine dining, said Rich Mills, president of Ohio One Corp., which owns the Commerce Building.
Mills, who confirmed Thursday that Guarnieri is taking the space, finalized lease details with the restaurateur this week. He said Guarnieri has a "great reputation" in the restaurant business.
Guarnieri operated the Belleria Pizzeria restaurant on Youngstown-Poland Road for 17 years until recently selling it, the restaurateur said. He expects to open the new restaurant in February.
“The fare is pretty much going to be a broad range,” Guarnieri said. “It will go from a simple Italian dinner to steaks, shops and seafood. Pretty much whatever you would like, you’ll be able to find something of it.”
Renovations will begin soon on the kitchen, which needs “a lot of work,” Guarnieri said. Equipment needs to be checked to see if it will work or can be repaired, he explained.
The new restaurant will retain the Youngstown Club’s dining room and lounge, making some adjustments to accommodate a new wine bar, Guarnieri said. The two banquet rooms on the fifth floor will be retained, able to accommodate parties from 25 up to 75 people combined, he said.
“I’m a big fan of the downtown,” Guarnieri said. He was born in Girard but his family moved near downtown in his early years. He recalls from his youth the building where his new restaurant will open, then known as Haber Furniture. When the landmark store closed in the 1980s, Ohio One bought and renovated the building.
Today, downtown is seeing a resurgence, with the addition of entertainment venues such as the Covelli Centre, growth of the Youngstown Business Incubator campus and the expanding residential population.
“This is a pretty big scale down here,” Guarnieri remarked regarding his project. “It helped to do this because of the growing opportunity and growing use of the downtown.”
Pictured: The Commerce Building downtown where George Guarnieri plans to open the former Youngstown Club space as "The Fifth Floor."
Copyright 2014 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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