Royal Oaks makeover serves as tribute to its roots

August 8, 2015 at 12:07a.m.

By GUY D’ASTOLFO

YOUNGSTOWN

It’s not like you wouldn’t even recognize the place, but The Royal Oaks isn’t what it used to be.

The “Bar Rescue” team has left it cleaner, simpler and classier, with a new decor that visibly pays homage to its storied past.

Actually, for East Side resident Frank Gaetano, the new Oaks is very recognizable. “They restored it to the way it looked 50 years ago,” he said.

Gaetano stopped by the bar Friday afternoon and reminisced about the days when he was a youth on the East Side and used to stop in the then family-friendly tavern.

“Bar Rescue,” the Spike TV docu-reality series starring Jon Taffer, visits struggling establishments and gives them a physical makeover as well as fixing problems with the menu and management. A film crew from the show was at the Oaks all week. It is not yet known when the episode will air.

The Royal Oaks, owned by brothers Lou and John Kennedy, was known for its offbeat decor, bizarre objects of art, cheap drinks and shabby-chic interior, and it attracted a faithful core of regulars that ranged from rockers to professionals and everything in between.

It’s a good bit different now.

The changes the show made are noticeable even before you walk in. The side entrance once was an unmarked door with stickers on it and an animal skull overhead. Now it is has been restored to its original black, with the word “entrance” on it and the phrase “est. 1934” overhead.

That phrase is repeated on the bar’s landmark sign on its side wall, and also on the front entrance, which now bears a plaque that reads: Royal Oaks, The Oldest Bar In Youngstown. An Institution Since 1934.

Inside, the space has been made roomier and more airy. The foyer has been removed, and the archway between the front bar area and the once-cluttered rear dining area has been sized down.

The dining area now has a flat-black floor with oriental carpets and tables and plush chairs. The rear wall has been redone with ornamental pressed tinplate squares, once a common sight in the city’s older bars.

The bar area also is much simpler.

After a fresh coat of paint all around, the many, and sometimes bizarre, mementos that once adorned the walls are gone. In their place are fewer, and larger, pieces of art that reflect the city’s history. These include enlarged black and white photographs and a steel company logo.

The classy wooden bar appears to have been restored to its original glory. But the once-grungy restrooms that were decried by many this week on social media appear to be a work in progress and are largely unchanged.

The Oaks reopened to the public Friday evening.

The bar has long been known for cheap drinks, while house-smoked barbecued ribs are considered some of the best in town.

As part of the “Bar Rescue” remake, some new drinks – with prices well above the Oaks’ usual range – have been added.

Three new drinks created for the Oaks – the Hot Toddy, the Bacon Whiskey Shot, and the Recoil – were all priced at $6.50 earlier this week when customers were let in for filming. The Hot Toddy includes Crown Royal, black tea, honey and a lemon wedge; the Bacon Shot is bacon-infused Bulleit Rye; and the Recoil is Bulleit Rye, Elderflower Liqueur, ginger meade, lemon juice and a lemon peel.

Added to the menu were a grilled brat for $6.95 and a spiced chicken dish for $8.85 (both include a side of either macaroni salad or coleslaw).