Circle on the Square? An idea that would boost downtown

The soon-to-open Circle Hookah and Bar offers a glimpse of a possible future for downtown Youngstown.

The bar is at the rear of the Circle Deli at 116 W. Federal St. and will open around June 1.

It will have a Middle Eastern flair in its decor and food, and also because it will have hookah pipes available.

What will really set it apart, though, is the fact that its main entrance will be in the square city-owned parking lot on West Commerce Street, between Hazel and Phelps streets.

That parking lot already has rear entrances to a half-dozen other bar-restaurants: Imbibe, Ryes, O’Donold’s, Martini Bros. Burger Bar, V2 and Suzie’s, and Rust Belt Tap House is right across the street. When the adjacent Gallagher building is renovated, there will be two more nightspots indirectly abutting it.

The space is hemmed in by tallish buildings, giving it a pleasantly confined aspect that would make it ideal for use as ... anything but a parking lot.

Wouldn’t it be cool to turn it into a paved and manicured parklet that could double as an outdoor performance space, with some type of stage? It would be a very unique urban setting, and a focal point for fun, especially on warm nights, with all of the back doors open to the bars and restaurants.

Such a parklet also would be a great spot for smaller festivals, or maybe lunch-time concerts for downtown office workers. Larger events — such as last weekend’s Federal Frenzy — could still take place on West Federal and North Phelps streets.

It’s an idea worth discussing, and I know some downtowners are already thinking about it.

Anyway, the Circle Hookah and Bar will be a nice addition to the downtown scene. It will feature a beautiful handmade wooden bar at one end, and a stonework two-sided gas-lit fireplace in the center. The walls will be lined with booths.

Extra-large framed photos of five Middle Eastern capitals — Beirut, Cairo, Jerusalem, Dubai and Amman — will grace the walls. The room is fronted with garage-door type windows, which will be raised in warm weather to further create an indoor-outdoor atmosphere.

The menu will specialize in Middle Eastern fare — shwarma, kebabs, hummus, falafel, tabbouleh, etc. — that owner Al Adi already offers in his deli.

The crowning touch will be outdoors: a hookah patio the width of the building that will extend outward roughly 20 feet into the aforementioned parking lot. An awning will cover it, and plastic walls will be unfurled in bad weather, so folks can smoke a hookah year-round.

A NEW ART GALLERY IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT THE BUTLER

At the Butler Institute of American Art, workers are finishing up a unique new gallery in the Americana section.

That section is in the adjacent Butler North building and is connected to the main building by a foot bridge.

The Butler North used to be a church, and the new gallery will be in the former choir loft. It will not only increase exhibit space, but also offer a stunning view of the former sanctuary (now a performance space), including an eye-level perspective of the beautiful stained-glass window above the former altar.

LATE CHANGE WORKED WELL FOR FEDERAL FRENZY FEST

The layout for Saturday’s Federal Frenzy street festival in downtown Youngstown was something we’ve never seen before. The stage was erected in the Phelps-Federal intersection, cater-corner to V2 restaurant. The crowd fanned out down both streets and the space in front of the stage filled up tight, just the right size.

For an 11th-hour adjustment, it worked well. Originally, the stage was going to be in the parking lot where the Kress building once stood, but paving of that lot began and forced the change.

It’s not certain whether future music festivals downtown will use that layout, but it’s an option.

There will be at least three more music festivals downtown this summer. The Revive Music and Arts Festival, featuring Jones for Revival, will be July 18 on Phelps Street; VexFest, Aug. 9; and the harder-edged Rust Belt Music Festival, Sept. 12, also on Phelps.

The Pabstolutely festival will be Aug. 15 at the Royal Oaks bar on the near East Side.

Jim DeCapua of Jones for Revival and Brian McCale are the producers of Revive, Rust Belt, and also the Big Kick It, a new festival that will be Aug. 29 at the B&O Station.

THIS AND THAT ...

Lawrence Brownlee, the opera star who hails from Youngstown, will perform in Pittsburgh Opera’s production of Donizetti’s “Daughter of the Regiment” on May 2, 5, 8 and 10 at Benedum Center. Go to pittsburghopera.com.

David Perrico, the Youngstown native and trumpet great who leads Pop Evolution, a flashy big-band type orchestra in Las Vegas, has released “Pop Evolution Live!” The album is available on iTunes.

Randall Craig Fleischer, music director of the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra, will be the commencement speaker for graduates of three colleges at Youngstown State University. The commencement ceremony will be May 16 in Beeghly Center.