BY NANCY TULLIS

By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A St. Patrick's Day promotion among downtown businesses shows the commitment to downtown and one another, young entrepreneurs say.
New business owners and downtown's old guard joined Friday in a St. Patrick's Day noon-to-midnight promotion they called Paint Downtown Green.
Participating were Anthony's On the River, Barley's, Bean Counter Cafe, Buffalo Wild Wings, Cedar's, Core, Draught House, Imbibe, Martini's, MVR, Old Precinct, Skeeter's Jazz Bar, Tomasino's and Touch the Moon Candy Saloon.
Business cards that listed 14 downtown businesses were available at each stop, and business owners encouraged patrons to move from place to place.
Jason Logero, owner of Bean Counter Cafe, opened the coffee shop and deli at 6 a.m. to serve up ham and eggs and corned beef and cabbage.
His corned beef and cabbage recipe came from an Irish woman, and by 5 p.m., it was gone.
"It's really fun downtown," said Brenda Mihaly of Coitsville, who stopped in the Bean Counter. "It's nice to see downtown built up. My kids love to come here. With Jason here and all the other restaurants, you can just come and hang out."
Early Friday evening, DeMayne Earvin, owner of Maynstream Media, sipped a beer at Barley's, which opened on Federal Plaza just eight days ago.
Business fraternity
Owner Dan Crump, 28, cranked up the volume on a compact disc of Irish music and observed that most of his patrons are people who stay downtown after work. He and Earvin said downtown business owners have created a fraternity.
Earvin said everyone downtown took risks to start their businesses and their efforts are beginning to pay off.
"This is the new wave," Earvin said. "All the places are owned by people under 40. In fact, most are under 35."
Earvin, 30, is a Woodrow Wilson High graduate who supports other downtown business owners by eating in their restaurants and helping with marketing.
"We're all young people who put everything on the line to start up here," he said.
Jeff Kurz of Imbibe celebrated the day with a ribbon cutting as he completed all the finishing touches on his martini bar, which opened in July 2005. Kurz greeted friends Friday who brought a busload of 40 people downtown from Lake Milton, and he encouraged them to check out downtown's other spots before heading home.
"We want people to think of downtown as an entertainment district," Kurz said. "The owners that have been here for years support us, and we support them. We're not just working for ourselves. We look out for one another."
Kurz, a Cardinal Mooney High School graduate, said young professionals have seen their peers revitalize downtown Akron, Cleveland and Columbus, and he sees no reason a similar rebirth can't happen here.
Dan Lynn and Joe Cox were among Imbibe's patrons Friday.
Sense of community
Lynn, a West Side resident and graduate of Chaney High School, said he likes to come downtown where there is a new sense of community.
"It's just like in Ireland," he said. "The Irish don't go to an analyst if they have problems; they go to a pub and talk."
Cox, of Boardman, said he and Lynn attend a lot of the SteelHounds games and support the downtown bars and restaurants. "Downtown is great," Cox said.
Patrons at Core nightclub drank beer and mixed drinks and danced and sang as Irish music played. Many wore costumes in various shades of green, Mardi Gras beads, party hats, and buttons that lighted up.
Bernard Marinelli, owner of Core, will celebrate his second year downtown next month.
"I definitely wanted to be part of the renaissance, and St. Patrick's Day is an easy way for people to go door to door and see what is downtown," he said. "St. Patrick's Day is very competitive. People will go where they know. We want them to know downtown."
Marinelli, 34, is a Canfield High School graduate who is proud of his Steel Valley heritage.
"Business downtown was absent for 30 years," he said. "It takes fresh eyes and young minds to see what Youngstown can become. Steel is our proud heritage, but new days lie ahead."
tullis@vindy.com