SitemapThe prime spot for people watching on the newly bustling Elm Street is a table inside Culturehouse Coffee.
Even on a blustery day, people passed by the shop amid the swirl of snowflakes. A pair of Youngstown State University students studied at one of the tables in the well-lit shop marked by bright wooden floors, clean white walls and sea-foam green accents. Culturehouse Coffee is one of four businesses that opened on the block in 2018, along with Her Primitive Ways Red Road Apothecary and two art studios. A man walked into the coffee shop with his son last week and expressed surprise that businesses sprouted amid the block’s familiar blight. “I graduated from YSU in 2006, and it hardly looks like the same place,” he said. The North Side, known for its once stately mansions and wooded parks was home to Youngstown’s wealthiest families during the height of the steel industry. Many years later, after the steel industry collapsed, Elm Street acquired a reputation as a dangerous part of town. “It was quite literally the ‘Nightmare on Elm,’” said Jonathan Blackshire, president of the Wick Park Neighborhood Association. Despite the surrounding blight, two anchor businesses have continued to thrive: Edward’s Flowers, which opened in 1947, and Full Circle Florist, which opened in 2005. Blackshire described the area’s redevelopment as “a continual effort with a lot of setbacks.” Common Wealth Inc., a non profit community development organization, has been at the helm of the work. The organization formed in the mid-1980s. For the last 30 years, Common Wealth has worked to spur housing and business development throughout Youngstown. In 2013, the organization opened Common Wealth Kitchen Incubator, a shared-use commercial kitchen on the block between Baldwin Street and Park Avenue that aims to lower the cost of starting or expanding local food businesses. Common Wealth’s second, related venture was the opening of Cultivate: a co-op cafe in 2016, right next door. Since the start of the new year, Elm Street Diner has been open across the street from Cultivate. A vintage clothing shop is expected to open on the block this spring.
“I’m shocked there’s a lot of enthusiasm,” said Ron Heinbaugh, the owner of Elm Street Diner. Stephen Protheroe, the owner of Culturehouse, echoed the sentiment. “The overall welcome reception has been really, really good,” Protheroe said. To read the full story from The Vindicator, click here.