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Food court at 20 Federal Place has filled up in the last two years
The Vindicator (Youngstown)
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Theresa Smith, who works at the Capitol Grill in the 20 Federal Place food court, prepares french fries during the afternoon lunch crowd at the downtown Youngstown office building.
The Vindicator (Youngstown)
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The food court has six restaurants with a seventh business — Subway — expected to opening near the food court in two to three months. Patrons and business owners agree business has increased in recent months.
YOUNGSTOWN
Eating a pepperoni roll from Pizza Joe’s for lunch with friends at the 20 Federal Place food court, John McMullen remembers when there wasn’t much of a selection at the downtown lunch location.
“It was lean for the past couple of years,” said McMullen, a federal bankruptcy court employee who’s worked downtown 28 years. “But I’ve seen an increase in the last couple of years.”
When the city bought the former Phar-Mor Centre at 20 W. Federal St. in the heart of downtown in June 2006, three restaurants were inside the building. [In its heyday, when Phar-Mor thrived, the food court was packed, McMullen and others say.]
Six restaurants now are in the food court, as many as it can hold. A Subway is opening in two to three months in the building a short distance from the food court.
Except for the former location of Kim’s Cafe, also close to the food court, the first-floor dining area is full.
Those who eat at the food court say they like the variety.
The eating establishments are:
Saigon Star Cafe, an Asian restaurant.
Pizza Joe’s, a pizza place.
Capitol Grill, a sandwich shop.
Sante Fe Southwestern Grill, specializing in Southwest cuisine.
The Magic Mocha Cafe, a specialty coffee shop.
The Yogurt Corner, which offers yogurt and is the only remaining food business left from the three that were there six-plus years ago.
The restaurants’ owners say business is good, particularly since VXI Global Solutions, a call center, opened in October 2009 and expanded a few months ago. The business employs about 1,100.
InfoCision, another call center, left 20 Federal Place in early 2009 after a four-year stay. It had employed about 165 there.
“When InfoCision left, we had a decline,” said Aleen Clare, owner of Pizza Joe’s at 20 Federal Place the past four years. “But with VXI, we’ve had a big increase. Many of our customers are in the building, but we get a lot” from other businesses downtown.
Randy Wiley and his wife, Mgan, opened Saigon Star Cafe on Dec. 1. The couple also owns the Buckeye Diner in Boardman.
“With all the development downtown we decided to come here,” he said. “My wife and I invested our life savings. We believe in downtown Youngstown. The whole feeling of downtown is completely changed from a few years ago. I can see this building as the hub of eating downtown. People have 30 minutes to eat lunch, so this is the perfect place.”
Jamie Coutris, Capitol Grill co-owner, said business has improved since it opened three years ago.
“When VXI came in, it became extremely busy,” she said.
But like Wiley and Clare, Coutris said she has plenty of other customers: workers from city hall, Mahoning County government offices, the George V. Voinovich Government Center and the high-tech businesses at the Youngstown Business Incubator and the Taft Technology Center.
“The patrons come from the building, but we’re also seeing people who work downtown,” said T. Sharon Woodberry, the city’s economic development director. Her office is one floor above the food court.
Unlike InfoCision, which had a small place to eat, VXI doesn’t sell food to its workers — something the city negotiated to help the restaurants at 20 Federal Place, said city Finance Director David Bozanich.
It’s working.
“I’m here every day,” said Michelle Clark, a VXI employee. “I like that there’s a variety of places to choose from. I didn’t know there were this many choices when I started working here. I haven’t had anything I didn’t like yet, and the prices are reasonable.”
William Sherhag, another VXI employee, also likes the variety.
“You have to try everything to find out what’s good,” he said.
But not everyone is a fan.
Eric Bradley, a VXI employee who recently moved from Venice Beach, Calif., said the food court needs more variety such as a Mongolian-style restaurant, a sushi bar or a Mexican grill.
“There’s too much carbohydrates,” he said.
Sherhag, who was eating lunch with him, told Bradley: “We like hearty food.”
Louis DeVicchio, owner of DeVicchio & Associates, which has managed the building for the past three years, said, “When we took over, this place looked like a dungeon.”
After discussions with the city, DeVicchio said the company painted, added new lighting, new seating, piped in music — a Musak-sounding rendition of the Beatles’ “Hey Jude” played while he spoke — as well as put in a large television and is adding wireless Internet this week.
As for the former Kim’s Cafe location, that spot and another one nearby are ideal for retail, DeVicchio said. He added that he’s in discussions with a couple of national companies to potentially lease those locations.
The city didn’t intend to take over the former Phar-Mor Centre, buying it “out of necessity” because it was going to be shut down after the company went out of business, Bozanich said.
“Had the city not stepped in, it would have been a [large] boarded-up space smack in the middle of the downtown,” he said.