Another longtime Valley restaurateur dies

YOUNGSTOWN

A group of loyal customers gathered at the Golden Dawn today following the death of the bar’s beloved co-owner, Carmen Naples, on Friday. He was 94.

News of his death comes on the heels of that of another longtime Valley restaurateur, Quaker Steak & Lube co-owner Gary Meszaros, also on Friday.

The Golden Dawn customers all referred to Naples as “Uncle Carmen” and praised the historic bar’s affordable Italian and American comfort food — especially the pizza, the schooners of beer and the Jumbo steak.

Golden Dawn opened in 1934 in the midst of the Great Depression. It was one of the first places in the city to secure a liquor license following the end of Prohibition. The establishment settled at its current location — a pie-shaped white stucco building on Logan Avenue — in 1945.

Over the years, the restaurant, owned by Carmen and his brother, Ralph Naples, served an array of local and national celebrities, including Vice President Joe Biden, musician Tom Petty and Youngstown State University President and former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel.

Arrangements for Naples are pending.

Read more about his life and death in Sunday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.