Avalon Downtown Pizzeria closes

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Avalon Downtown Pizzeria is closed.

The restaurant, at 17 W. Federal St., is co-owned by Angelina Snyder and Anne Massullo Sabella.

On Wednesday, a sign inside the external door of the West Federal Street business read “Closed Thank you,” and brown paper hung on the restaurant’s second set of double doors. The business phone rang unanswered, and the owners couldn’t be reached to comment.

The Avalon Downtown website, avalondowntown.com, had this message posted on it Wednesday afternoon: “Thanks for the support from all our loyal customers, but we are officially closed.”

Youngstown Mayor John A. McNally said he received a call from one of the owners Wednesday morning informing him of the closure.

The pizzeria had a soft opening on New Year’s Eve 2012, according to Vindicator files.

Back then, the owners told The Vindicator they talked about opening a restaurant for about a year.

They saw the pizzeria as a chance to add “something new to the downtown.”

The building had exposed wood and brick, which is common in older downtown buildings, and included a large mural on the wall depicting the city.

Avalon offered a variety of pizzas from traditional tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese to barbecue chicken.

The restaurant also had salads, paninis and “signature foods,” including hot peppers, fried cheese and fried smelts.