Blue Wolf Tavern relocates to busy Route 224 corridor

The owners say their next project will be an 'authentic' Italian eatery.
By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
BOARDMAN -- The Blue Wolf Tavern, a restaurant that got its start in Struthers three years ago, has relocated to larger quarters on the Mahoning Valley's busiest commercial highway.
Now known as the Blue Wolf Tavern and Bakery Cafe, the restaurant opened this week at 1295 Boardman-Canfield Road (U.S. Route 224) in the Fawn Plaza.
"We hated to leave Struthers, but we wanted to bring our product and services closer to the people we're trying to reach," said Joseph Rzonsa, a principal in the business and one of the founders.
"When people think about going out, they take a mental trip down Route 224," he said. "This location is seen as the place to be when people are going out to eat."
The owners
Owners are Rzonsa and Brant Newton, both part of the team that opened the original Blue Wolf in August 2001, and Kevin Thomas, a new partner. Rzonsa and Newton are chefs, and Thomas manages the dining room.
The new location used to house Buttermaid Bakery and a Spinners submarine sandwich shop, and the owners of those businesses have also partnered with Rzonsa, Newton and Thomas.
Blue Wolf offers a wider variety of Buttermaid desserts and pastries, along with a separate bakery counter where customers can order take-home items.
Newton said the investors all worked side by side to help renovate the 6,000-square-foot restaurant, and that kept the cost down.
Records on file with the Mahoning County Building Inspection Department set the renovation value at $70,000. Improvements include a large carved-stone bar and a two-sided stone fireplace connecting the bar and the main dining room.
The investors are forming a restaurant group, 224 Properties, with the Boardman Blue Wolf as their first venture.
Next on their agenda, Newton said, the partners will open what they call an "authentic, regional Italian restaurant" in Boardman.
"Most of the Italian restaurants around this area are Americanized," he explained. The group has a location in mind for the Italian eatery but is not ready to give details. It expects to open within six to eight months.
Other Blue Wolf Taverns
The investors also plan to open other Blue Wolf Tavern and Bakery Cafes, using the Boardman restaurant as their prototype.
Rzonsa and Newton had plenty of restaurant experience but were new to owning a business when they opened Blue Wolf in Struthers. Within a few months, the restaurant was drawing crowds and had waiting lists on weekend nights.
The restaurant's lease at the downtown Struthers location expired this spring, Rzonsa said, and there were other issues that prompted the owners to close there. At one time the partners planned to keep the Struthers restaurant and open a second Blue Wolf in Boardman.
The tavern-cafe employs 56 full- and part-time employees, many of whom also worked at the Struthers location.
Its new menu has most of the same offerings featured in Struthers, Rzonsa said, along with some "upper scale" items such as filet mignon and the new pastries and sub sandwich selections. Menu prices range from $5.99 for a sandwich to $23.99.
vinarsky@vindy.com