Sunrise Inn in Warren to expand into Austintown

By Don Shilling

The former Waffle House in Austintown will become a Sunrise Inn Express.

AUSTINTOWN — The Sunrise Inn, a landmark Warren restaurant, is expanding into Mahoning County.

The 80-year-old restaurant is opening a franchised location in Austintown, and locations in areas such as Boardman, Poland and Canfield also are being considered, said Ken Haidaris, Sunrise co-owner.

He and his partner, Dino Haidaris, are expanding with their Sunrise Inn Express concept, which features carryout pizza, wings, sandwiches and other food. The first Express store opened in Howland.

The next location is at the former Waffle House at 5205 Mahoning Ave., which is expected to open during the first two weeks of November. The Waffle House closed shortly after it opened about a year ago.

Ken Haidaris said future expansions will be through franchising because the owners can do only so much.

Don Fowler of Howland, who used to operate a restaurant in Columbus, is the franchisee for the Austintown restaurant. Fowler bought the property last month for $274,900, according to records on file with the Mahoning County auditor.

Haidaris said the Austintown location will have seating for 20 to 30 people, but it will not be a full-service restaurant. The phone number will be (330) 793-1000.

He said he has been looking at Austintown for the past two years.

“There’s a lot of energy there,” he said.

He wasn’t able to put together deals at other locations that were considered, but he said he likes the fit of the former Waffle House site. He said the building is nearly new and is a good size for the carryout operations.

Haidaris said the building isn’t quite large enough for a full-service restaurant, but he thinks carryout is the way to go because of people’s busy lifestyles.

He said he didn’t want to comment about other possible locations because he wants to take the expansion one restaurant at a time.

He said business is going well at the original location in Warren. He said business has benefited by added events that have been occurring downtown.

The Sunrise Inn, which has long been known for its pizza, was founded by Charles Murgie in 1929.

Tom and Angelo Haidaris, the fathers of the current owners, bought the business in the 1970s. Tom has since died, and Angelo is retired.

shilling@vindy.com