Sale of Cafaro HQ to Phantom Fireworks finalized

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The Cafaro Co. has sold its former corporate office building on Belmont Avenue to Phantom Fireworks.

The sale was finalized Tuesday, according to William A. Weimer, vice president and general counsel of the B.J. Alan Co., owner of Phantom Fireworks.

Phantom Fireworks has not yet finalized its plans for the former Cafaro building at 2445 Belmont Ave., said Weimer, who did not reveal what Phantom paid for its new property.

“The Valley is our home, and we will continue to value the City of Youngstown and invest in its future,” said Bruce Zoldan, chief executive officer and founder of Phantom Fireworks, in a statement announcing the sale.

The Cafaro building was originally constructed in 1965 and expanded in 1980 to 44,019 square feet.

In addition to the building, the sale includes 3.59 acres of land and assorted building furniture. There is parking for 130 employees and 22 visitors.

On May 31, the 200 Cafaro employees relocated to a new three-story, 50,000-square-foot headquarters in the Cafaro-owned Eastwood Mall at 5577 Youngstown-Warren Road in Niles.

Phantom’s warehouse operations occupies about two-thirds of a 1.2 million-square-foot warehouse at Larchmont Avenue and North River Road in Trumbull County, acquired in 2011 by the Zoldan family.

Plans for the remaining space there will be announced in the future, Weimer said.

“We started this company thanks in part to the support of our community, and we plan to be a part of this great area for a long time to come,” Zoldan said.

Cafaro-affiliated companies own and oversee more than 30 million square feet of commercial real estate in 10 states. Founded by the late William M. Cafaro in the 1940s, the firm is now in its seventh decade and third generation as a family-owned and -managed business.

Weimer said Phantom Fireworks is now the largest consumer fireworks retailer in the United States, with 80 fireworks showrooms in 16 states and seasonal outlets in 21 additional states. Since its inception, the number of states allowing some level of sales and use of consumer fireworks has grown from 13 to 47.

Zoldan and Troy and Aafke Loney, owners of the Youngstown Phantoms hockey team, recently negotiated a new contract with the Youngstown, extending the team’s lease at the Covelli Centre.

“Mahoning and Trumbull counties have tremendous promise, and we look forward to continuing to be a part of the business and sports communities for many years to come,” Zoldan said in a statement. “I have never forgotten the support of the area in helping me and my family to build a national and worldwide business, and we are committed to giving back what we can.”