Monday, September 8, 2008

Cedars Café reopens

By Katie Libecco

YOUNGSTOWN — After four-and-a-half months of closed-door renovation, Cedars Café has reopened.

Co-owner and bar manager Mara Simon says she worked within a very tight budget to renovate the café.

Though the bar remained opened with live acts performing, the kitchen and restaurant were closed while painting and other minor tasks were performed. Through the process, Simon kept on only one employee, who had lived in Brooklyn when Simon lived there, although they didn't meet until they moved back to Youngstown.

Simon says her time in New York was the inspiration for the changes.

"When I came back, I missed New York. So I figured, why not bring some of what I liked about it to Youngstown?" she says.

Elements of cafés near her job on Wall Street and apartment in Brooklyn were incorporated into the café's new atmosphere.

Photographs by resident bartender Billy Danielson are on the walls, and there's all new furniture arranged in a more casual layout. (Volkswagen enthusiasts note: There's a 60s-era Volkswagen Bug-turned-chair in the corner, featuring headlight assemblies and a bumper with no chrome pitting.)

The menu was also re-crafted, featuring paninis and tapas (like cherry tomatoes stuffed with goat cheese and falafel crusted artichoke hearts.) The only menu items remaining from their old menu are Lebanese selections.

"That's who we are," Simon says.

Items from the menu that were more common or not Lebanese have been removed, like the Cedars Burger and pasta dishes.

The restaurant now has free Wi-Fi for customers, and Simon is quick to mention college students looking for a place to study are more than welcome.

"If you just want to get a cup of coffee and hang out, that's fine," she says.

There's other plans in the works for the now mostly unused lounge space between bar and restaurant and new events.

Simon says she's also worked with booking to change some of the acts. She says there are some national acts scheduled for the fall (which she didn't disclose) and a schedule that lets lesser-known acts frequent their stage as often as bands who call Cedars home.

There's also plans to add a coffee bar as soon as next month, among more changes to be announced in coming months.