Serving Up Optimism

By John W. Goodwin Jr.

Ex-Delphi workers upbeat on Girard bar business

Both men are happy with the decision to remain in the area.

GIRARD — When life hands you lemons, you can make lemonade. When your company hands you a buyout check, you can make one mean boilermaker.

Chuck Baker and Mike Easterling have turned what many would consider one of life’s lemons into lemonade — and a few boilermakers. Both men were longtime employees at Delphi Packard Electric until cutbacks sent one man into retirement and the other home with a buyout check.

Baker and Easterling have now taken the funds from their retirement/severance and invested in a local family business.

The State Street Bar Grille opened 18 months ago. The business has been part of the city for years, but the name has changed.

Easterling, 35, said he considered uprooting and leaving the area, but the Mahoning Valley is his home — and it’s just not that easy to leave.

“I grew up here. My family and friends are here. I thought about going someplace else, but really it all comes down to home,” he said.

Baker, 55, who was good friends with Easterling’s mother, has similar reasons for remaining in the area and starting a business. He said his sons are in the military, with one coming home soon. Plus, he has an optimistic view of the direction this area is going.

“It’s really a family thing, but I would love to see this valley come back. It was a great place to grow up and I really want to see it come back,” he said.

Both men decided that a local business would be the best way to remain in the area and earn a decent living.

A neighborhood bar was not at the top of the list, and Woody’s on State Street here did not catch their eye.

“We had been looking for a place. We started looking at pizza parlors and things like that, then all of a sudden we were looking at bars. We came in a couple of times to watch the place and see and it wasn’t very impressive,” said Baker. “They had clientele where you did not want to bring your family in here. It wasn’t very pretty and it was just plain dirty.”

Baker and Easterling eventually did ink a deal for the bar. The Woody’s sign came down and in its place went a sign for the State Street Bar Grille. The name, Baker said, reflects the connection to the community.

Easterling said the hard part came after the previous owners tossed them the keys when the deal had been officially signed. The two men spent the next six months cleaning, painting, remodeling, adding a patio to the rear and making the business more community- and family-friendly.

“We have tried several different things and found the best thing is to open up in the afternoon as a neighborhood bar with entertainment at night, and a limited, but good, food menu,” said Baker.

Baker and Easterling both say they are happy with the decision to remain in the area operating a small family business. They say the goal is to remain viable in the community and offer employment to others living here.