DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... Steak houses..

Believe me, there was a time where the elected officials in the city were content to allow the city to continue a descent into misery and rot.

Like him or not, Jim Trafficant did a lot for this area. He got the new federal courthouse, and the Chevy Center for downtown. Many wondered if that might wind up being an albatross, but I think that it has brought people to downtown, which has led to more development in turn. Receiving federal funds to tear down abandoned houses also helped in revitalizing dilapidated neighborhoods.

If I were an industry looking for a place to built, I would have to consider the Youngstown area really carefully. There is a lot of available land, and it is available at bargain prices. There is a huge available workforce. Tax abatements have been used to help bring in some other businesses.

I complained a lot about the horrible leadership in the Youngstown area for a very long time. (including the time frame you referenced) However, really starting with George McKelvey, the area started turning around. His administration came up with a plan,and the leadership of the area, his and the administrations after his, followed it.

They have done a good job overall. They have not been perfect, but they do sometimes arrive at creative solutions to problems the city has. I don't like all of their answers, when they raised the income tax rate to one of the highest in the state, for example, but I do think that they are trying to do good things for the area, and that is not something I could always say.

No, those numbers are not including the surrounding areas, otherwise Cleveland would be like 2.3 million, or something like that.

Honestly, though, I'm surprised to see it at nearly 400,000. I think that is a significant increase over the last 5-8 years. I would have sworn we were more in the 230,000 ballpark.

Interesting. 2.3m seems like an awful lot though even when you include the suburbs.

I never know when they do these population numbers if that includes just the city proper or all the surrounding suburbs too.

quick check with Google says 2.077 million for the Greater Cleveland area; so I was a bit off, but not terribly.

. There is a lot of available land, and it is available at bargain prices. There is a huge available workforce. Tax abatements have been used to help bring in some other businesses.

Ok now you peaked my interest...Lets say you have a company..we will call it FBHO71's Lot of land you say..developed?? Empty warehouses? or would FBHO71's have to come in and develop it himself?

The workforce...could you happen to tell me kind of the average wage for general labor work..like packing and shipping type jobs?? fork lift ect..

Is the leadership Democrat?? does it lean democrat?? Unionized jobs strong there??

Tax abatement's...do you happen to know off hand what kind? Like say FBHO71's could bring say 200 plus jobs do they gear towards that or do they want bigger fish??

Have they done permanent tax abatement's?? or is it just less tax for X amount of time?

You seem pretty in tune with your community and thats why I'm asking you instead of Google.

You peaked my interest now...so anything you could tell me would be appreciated...or if you dont know..which I'm thinking you do..or I wouldn't have asked..could you direct me to where those answers are available??

The area is heavily Democratic. There was a rumor that it had a Republican Mayor once upon a time, but I cannot recall when. We did have a Republican Congressman back in the 70s, Lyle Williams, but he lost in his re-election bid to Jim Trafficant. McKelvey was a Democrat, but he actually campaigned for GW Bush when he ran for re-election.

The area has 2 real huge union strongholds in GM and Delphi. (along with some trades that are union, and Giant Eagle, a grocery chain) However, it seems like a lot of businesses that have come in have not been forced to unionize.

I am not sure about the scale for tax abatements, but I have seen them for up to 10 years. 200 employees would be a fairly large employer in Youngstown, especially if that was full time employment. I have never heard of any locality giving a permanent tax abatement.

Here is some information about opportunities in Youngstown:

http://www.youngstownohio.gov/city_hall/...14%20Update.pdf

Thanks Y-town I appreciate the link/response...I'll look into thanks .

The tax abatement thing I shouldve worded differently ..

Do they base it off your capital investment ??

or number of primary jobs created?? wage level..ect.

Maybe the question was little more involved but I was curious if you had the answers or heard of anything regarding it.

But either way thanks for responding i have some reading to do.

My guess would be that there is no stock answer to your question. Tax abatement's that I know of vary quite a bit within a community - based on all of the things you mentioned as well as probably other things.

I am not 100% sure how they finalize a decision on tax abatements.

Here is some information from the local Chamber of Commerce on various programs for bring business to Youngstown.

Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber | Incentives
http://regionalchamber.com/EconomicDevel...vesSummary.aspx

More info here:

Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber | Economic Development Programs Fact Sheet - Ohio Enterprise Zone Program - Mahoning County
http://regionalchamber.com/EconomicDevel...FS-OEZP-MC.aspx

From this, it says that these are tax benefits:

Substantial tax reductions on new real property investment. Additional franchise or state income tax benefits may be available.

In Mahoning County, Enterprise Zones have been established in:
- The cities of Youngstown, Campbell, and Struthers,
- The villages of Lowellville and Sebring, and
- The townships of Austintown, Coitsville and Jackson.

I was not aware that these benefits extend outside of the city of Youngstown itself.

Thanks for the links...I'm going to check them out thanks.

You're welcome.

Damn now that I read through the steakhouse restaurant thread I am hungry for a good meal.....only problem is I need something a bit closer..... any suggestions for Canton,North Canton or south like Dover, New Philadelphia? I love steak but not opposed to try something else if you guys recommend a good place....thanks in advance!

I don't know if things have changed, but when I lived in that area, there were a few good steak places:

--Bakers in Canton.

--Zoar Tavern. It's in Bolivar.

--There was also a place right beside it, more pricey, but not that high, that had good steaks.

--John's Bar has good steaks, but sometimes the seasoning isn't as good as others.

--Lucia's is in a not-so-nice area of Canton, but it used to be one of my all-time favorites.

--Bender's in Canton is good.

--The Desert Inn has Middle Eastern food, but daggone, it's good.

--The Diamond Grill in Akron is very good.

--Lanning's Restaurant in Akron was where I took my wife on our first real date. They had something like 8 courses. Very stylish. Very good. Very romantic. That was a long time ago. We went back several times w/the kids, but I haven't been there in about 15 years........so, who knows?

Gervasi Vineyard and Bistro

91 Wood Fired Oven

Gervasi is a great place to go in the summer time. You can walk the property, take a blanket and enjoy a bottle of wine, listen to music, etc.. The inside is done very nicely as well.

Gervasi's is great for the atmosphere. The food.....not so much.

I did like 91, though.

Malcuit's in Strasburg. Their steaks are very good. Sides are just ok, but it is pretty reasonable for a good steak.

Thanks for the suggestions.....I hit up John's Bar about a year ago....must have been one of the off seasoning nights....wasn't bad but didn't knock my socks off.

We went to Lanning's recently for my mom's birthday. Sill excellent and as always the service is impeccable. One of the few remaining fine dining establishments where the sides and salads are not a la carte.

For those of you on the west side, try Strip in Avon. Excellent.

http://www.stripsteakhouse.com/files/menu13.pdf

Best steakhouse I've ever been is Malone's in Lexington, KY.

I would try Ballpeen's, somewhere around Chattanooga, Tennessee.

https://www.dawgtalkers.net/ubbthreads.ph...teak#Post684018



(Ballpeen tells you how to make a great steak in your own kitchen.)

Pine Club is no reservations taken (you will wait) and no credit card. Fabulous stuff!

It is a top 10 steakhouse.

Bone in is thru the roof for flavor.

Thanks to everyone who replied I put these places in my phone for future reference...except for Peen's address he probably wouldnt want me having that

I agree FB.....if you go to any of these let me know and I will post my thoughts if I go as well....

Thanks guys!