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New life for the Old Precinct bar
YOUNGSTOWN — The Old Precinct, a downtown lunch spot that closed more than a year ago, has reopened as a bar.
Mike Fonda, who is a lieutenant with the Mahoning County SheriffSSRqs Department, still owns the place, which had an old-time police station theme. He used to run the place and prepare the food when it was a diner, but he has stepped back from the daily operation.
Instead, a trio lead by T.J. Parker, manager; and Pat Bokesch and Mick Howley are in charge of the daily operations of the nightspot, which opened three weeks ago.
The upstairs of the Old Precinct, 32 N. Phelps St., has been remodeled and opened as a laid-back lounge area, said Parker, and plasma televisions have been installed. The kitchen is not open, but the Old Precinct has been grilling food outdoors.
The latest addition to the downtown nightlife scene is open only on Saturdays from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. “We hope to have it open from Thursday through Monday by summertime, and definitely by football season,” said Parker.
He plans to make the bar a popular spot to watch college and pro football games.
But a more immediate goal is to build the Friday night happy-hour business.
“Starting May 1, we hope the Old Precinct can be the official happy hour spot of all downtown area businesses,” said Parker. “This is something we really want to make a staple of our establishment, and we look forward to serving the hard-working people of Youngstown.”
Happy hour will be from 3 to 7 p.m.
Parker said his plans also include collaborative outdoor festivals with neighboring bars.
Parker, Bokesch and Howley are lifelong friends and 2003 graduates of Austintown Fitch High School. Parker is a graduate of Bethany College in West Virginia, while Bokesch and Howley graduated from Ohio State University.
The Old Precinct is the first bar-business venture for the trio. “It’s all new to us,” said Parker, who is also a teacher in Austintown School District and a coach for the Fitch High football and baseball teams.