METRO DIGEST || Quaker Steak co-founder dies


Quaker Steak co-founder dies

Gary Meszaros, co-founder and executive vice president of Quaker Steak & Lube, died Friday afternoon.

Meszaros, also known as “Moe,” was a Vietnam veteran, former chairman of the Mercer County Salvation Army Board and honorary chairman of the 2011 and 2013 Red Kettle Campaigns.

He co-founded Quaker Steak in 1974 with boyhood friend George Warren, in an abandoned gas station in Sharon, Pa. They later expanded the popular eatery to Boardman, Austintown, and other locations and franchises in Ohio, Pennsylvania and across the country, eventually creating a holding company to oversee the growing operation.

Meszaros and Warren also were the driving force behind Sharon’s long-popular Small Ships Revue, an idea they brought back from a New York event.

No other information was available on his death or arrangements Friday night.

Teen faces charges

BOARDMAN

A Youngstown teen faces multiple charges after he reportedly was caught going through cars near Danbury and Hudson drives late Thursday. Devlon Cox, 16, of Boston Avenue is charged with misdemeanor counts of unauthorized use of property, obstructing official business and theft. He also was arrested on a Mahoning County juvenile court pickup order for violating a court order. The original charge is domestic violence. Township police arrested Cox after multiple victims reported a suspect stealing items from cars. The charge of obstructing official business stems from Cox’s reportedly running from police.

Arrested after calls

YOUNGSTOWN

A man who called police Thursday saying his girlfriend would not give him his gun because he was drunk was arrested for disrupting public service.

Reports said officers had been called to a home in the 100 block of North Belle Vista Avenue about 4:30 p.m. for the third time in just over an hour by Ronald Gray, 42.

Reports said police told Gray perhaps it was best that his girlfriend would not give him his gun. Gray told police he would keep calling police until they got his gun for him. He then was arrested on a charge of disrupting public services and taken to the Mahoning County jail.

Visit with mayor

YOUNGSTOWN

The monthly Five Minutes with the Mayor will take place at 5 p.m. Tuesday in the mayor’s office on the first floor of city hall, 26 S. Phelps St. Citizens can visit Mayor John A. McNally to ask questions and voice concerns about the city.

School district event

YOUNGSTOWN

The city school district will host “Relationships, Respect & Race: Why Cultural Relevance Matters in Our Schools” from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Monday at Choffin Career and Technical Center. The event will include presidents by Michael Corso of the Quaglia Institute for Student Aspirations, Rhonda Talford Knight of Muskingum University and the Knight Consulting Group and students from city schools’ Quaglia Teams.

Garden District

YOUNGSTOWN

The Garden District Neighborhood Association will host its monthly meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Fellows Riverside Gardens, 123 McKinley Ave. President Jerry O’Hara will officiate, and the guest speaker will be Tim O’Hara, vice president of UAW 1112 Lordstown. Councilman Mike Ray. D-4th, will give activity updates concerning the West Side and the rest of the city. The Mahoning Avenue Better Block Project also will be a topic of discussion.

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