DOWNTOWN YOUNGSTOWN Couple has high hopes for Hub

The new owners planto give the landmark restaurant and its menu a face-lift, but they'll keep some of the old favorites.
By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Jim Danko thinks of downtown Youngstown as a sleeping giant, and he wants to be close by when it wakes up.
That's why Danko and his wife, Denise Vaclav-Danko, jumped at the chance to buy The Hub Coffee House, a longtime downtown landmark across the street from the Mahoning County Courthouse at 101 Market St.
"We believe in the city," he said. "When I saw this place was up for sale, I said: 'Wow! Let's call!'"
Lounging on a well-worn counter stool overlooking the restaurant's grill area, the Dankos talked about their plans to give the familiar eatery a face-lift.
They'll keep the original wood-framed booths and the large, plate glass windows overlooking downtown's busiest thoroughfare. The dark table tops will be replaced, along with the worn leather seat cushions crisscrossed with patches of tape.
A fresh coat of paint, new kitchen equipment and some aesthetic improvements outside will complete the project. "We'll work on weekends when we're closed, and I'll do a lot of the work myself," he said.
The new owners are changing the restaurant name to Courthouse Hub Deli & amp; Cafe to reflect its proximity to four courthouses. The eatery is within a block or two of the county courthouse, both federal courthouses on Market Street and the Youngstown Municipal Court at city hall.
The menu will change, too.
Deli sandwiches
Danko plans to add a deli counter serving up thick, stacked sandwiches like those in big cities such as New York and Chicago. He's already added a stacked bologna sandwich he's jokingly named the Big George after a friend.
The giant, half-pound Hub Burger will stay on the menu, along with breakfast specials and some other proven favorites, but he'll add more salads for light eaters, flavored coffees and some of his own home recipes for lunch specials.
Hours now are 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., but Danko may eventually try staying open until 5 p.m. if he can build interest in early dinners and carryout orders.
Other ideas abound. He'll capitalize on the restaurant's liquor license by sponsoring occasional after-work happy hours. He'll put some tables out on the sidewalk during the warm months. He'll offer delivery downtown and catering for small office parties.
Danko's optimism about the future of the downtown is undaunted by the number of boarded up buildings and empty office suites.
He's confident things will pick up when the city goes forward with plans to reopen Federal Plaza to traffic this fall, and he's also excited about the prospect that a new downtown civic center may be erected nearby.
In the meantime, the couple will cater to the downtown employees who hurry in for a quick lunch or a carryout meal. Danko says he's heard estimates that as many as 5,000 or 6,000 people are working in the downtown district.
He plans to fax copies of his menu and his daily specials to private and government offices around the area to encourage more new customers to visit.
Big decision
Buying the Hub was no snap decision, Vaclav-Danko said. The couple had been thinking about opening a restaurant for four years. "This was a major career change," she said. "It was a very big decision for us."
Married seven years, both are Youngstown natives. Danko lived on the city's South Side, graduated from Wilson High School and studied labor relations at Youngstown State University; his wife grew up on the West Side, graduated from Poland Seminary High School, then studied education at YSU and Westminster College.
He was working as a meat department manager for Giant Eagle in Boardman and she was a program coordinator at Choffin Career Center when they saw the newspaper ad for The Hub. It took about five weeks to negotiate a purchase agreement with Issa Kandah, who had owned the restaurant since the mid-1980s.
The couple agreed that Danko would quit his job and work full time at The Hub, leaving behind 21 years of seniority and a steady paycheck; Vaclav-Danko would continue in her position at Choffin, helping out part time at the restaurant.
"I'm going from a steady paycheck to maybe ending up with a few bucks at the end of the week," he joked. "I don't think I'll ever become a millionaire here, but it's what I want to do."
Small-business program
The Dankos qualified for assistance under the city's Youngstown/Small Business Administration Revitalization Initiative Program. Administered by the Office of Economic Development, the program is a collaborative effort put together by local banks, the city and the SBA.
Under the Initiative Program, director Tameka Woodbury said, the Dankos got a prime interest rate, an SBA loan guarantee and a $13,500 performance grant from the city.
The grant, 15 percent of the total $95,000 purchase and renovation project cost, is a loan that converts to a grant if the business keeps its operating, hiring and improvement commitments for three years. The couple kept all the former owner's employees, and they've promised to add six more positions within three years.
"Sometimes you hear people criticizing the city, saying they move too slow, but I can't say enough about the city, Sky Bank and the SBA people," Danko said. "They did everything they could to make it happen for us. They all joined hands in saving what is really a downtown landmark."
vinarsky@vindy.com