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Austintown businesses see positives, negatives to game at Barry Dyngles
By ROBERT CONNELLY
AUSTINTOWN
Other businesses in the Raccoon Road business corridor have seen benefits – and detriments – to the ancillary effects from the Barry Dyngles game of chance.
Bob McAllister, owner of BoJo’s Creamery at 1412 S. Raccoon Road, had a big smile on his face and said the Queen of Hearts game across the street has been phenomenal for his ice cream store.
The people wanting to buy tickets at Barry Dyngles, 1601 S. Raccoon Road, “park everywhere. Our business is up 40 percent on this and starts probably at 5 p.m. on Wednesday,” he said.
Next door at Trimz, barber James Hannis said people from outside Austintown have come in for haircuts as well as the game at Barry Dyngles. The person who owns the parking lots of Trimz and BoJo’s has been charging $5 for a parking spot on Wednesday nights, when a ticket is drawn for the Queen of Hearts game.
People can buy one ticket for $1 and write down the number they think will be selected, a phone number to reach them and their name. The board began with 54 cards face down, and each Wednesday night one card is revealed. There are 10 cards remaining for tonight’s draw, and last week’s jackpot reached $329,469. That number is expected to be more than $450,000 tonight.
If the person whose ticket is pulled is present and the Queen of Hearts is selected, that person wins the full jackpot. If that person is not present, half of the jackpot is won. There is another Queen remaining on the board, which would then pay out 10 percent of the jackpot.
But not all of the Raccoon Road businesses are happy with the fever that the elusive Queen of Hearts has stirred. “At least leave some of the front area [parking spots] for our customers. That would be OK, but they want to take every spot,” said Michael Christy, a manager at Wedgewood Fernando’s Pizza at 1622 S. Raccoon Road.
He further said one customer had to park at Huntington Bank, down the road at 1732 S. Raccoon Road, to come to the restaurant. Christy said business has not been impacted much, “but it hurts our customers coming into the parking lot.”
Next door at Famous Hair, within the Cardinal Plaza strip mall at New and Raccoon roads, salon manager Susanna Young said people seeking to buy tickets at Barry Dyngles sometimes block cars in their lot.
“I’m hoping that people who don’t know us come in [to our store] in the future,” she said.
While Famous Hair is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, business shuts down after 5 because of people filling up the parking lot to buy tickets at Barry Dyngles.
An employee at Papa John’s Pizza, within a strip mall at 1502 S. Raccoon Road, said business has slowed down at nights and Wednesdays, but the business plans to sell pizza by the slice outside tonight during the festivities surrounding the ticket drawing.
Officials announced earlier this week that Raccoon Road will be closed for a time around the ticket drawing due to an expected high turnout.
Trax Restaurant and Lounge, 4250 New Road, several blocks down from Barry Dyngles, has seen steady crowds on Wednesdays.
“What we get is a lot of people eating out on our patio prior to the drawing, and then at 7:30 p.m. they’ll get up and walk down the street for the drawing,” said Frank Valentini, Trax owner. Then they “come back with a big, sad look on their face.”
He said it is encouraging to see more attention on the Raccoon Road business corridor again after attention had shifted to state Route 46 when Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course opened last September.
“It draws more people to the area and gets more exposure for everyone,” Valentini said. “Being that I’m around the corner, it’s made a difference. I’m all for it.”