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Avalon Gardens closes; owner still missing
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Avalon Gardens, a longtime bar and restaurant on Youngstown’s North Side, closed for good Friday night, four months after its owner Jim Donofrio went missing.
YOUNGSTOWN
A longtime bar and restaurant on the city’s North Side is closed for good, four months after its owner went missing.
James “Jim” Donofrio, 64, of Boardman, bought the 90-year-old Avalon Gardens on Belmont Avenue about a year ago. Donofrio was reported missing after he was expected to close his restaurant Sept. 25, 2011, but never arrived.
A day later, Jim’s SUV was found abandoned under the Market Street bridge.
Rosanne Donofrio, Jim’s wife, said Jim was the driving force behind the Avalon, which had remained open after her husband’s disappearance.
“We just came to a point where it wasn’t making sense to keep something going that was bittersweet,” she said. “Jim had a vision of restoring and reviving Youngstown, and that was his.”
The Avalon closed Friday night for the last time.
“It’s not a temporary close as far as we’re concerned,” Rosanne said.
She said she has a “wait-and-see” mentality about a decision to sell the restaurant.
Nancy Donofrio, Jim Donofrio’s sister-in-law, said closing the restaurant was “incredibly painful” for the family.
“Jim had a lot of hope for the place and restoring it to its former state of grandeur,” Nancy said.
Still, she said, the family’s biggest message is: “There’s still a missing man.”
“Not knowing what happened to him still hurts,” Nancy said.
In the weeks after Jim’s disappearance, law- enforcement crews and volunteers combed the Mahoning River and the Mahoning Valley.
Rosanne said she is very grateful to all who have helped look for Jim and supported her family.
She specifically thanked Betsy Klingensmith, who organized a fundraiser for the reward money, and the Canfield boys soccer team for volunteering at the fundraiser.
The family still is offering $5,000 as a reward for confirmed information about Jim’s whereabouts. More information about the case is available at www.findjames.info.
“We’re still waiting, day by day, waiting. ... To anyone who may have information about Jim or his disappearance, I plead with you and your conscience to come forward to help us find Jim and some peace,” Rosanne said.