B O - Youngstown

My sister and now brother in law had their wedding here a couple months ago and it was a so so experience. The location is somewhat unsuspecting considering it is near the heart of downtown Youngstown, but there is a nice dock overlooking the Mahoning River and the banquet hall is actually quite elegant on the inside it's an old train station, hence the name B O Station Banquet Hall. I know they got a good deal on the price, but for how many issues ensued following the booking, I am not entirely sure either of the newlyweds were very satisfied with the decision. My sister always said she just wanted to elope and if she knew all the problems that would arise during the event planning, she may have went with her initial instinct. Things seemed to be going well until a couple days before the wedding she was contacted through text message that the elevator in the hall was broken and none of the tables or chairs would be able to be transported between levels. The original plan was to have the ceremony in the lower level of the hall and the reception would be held upstairs. This certainly put a kink in things and I can imagine it was increasingly frustrating to be contacted through text, not even a phone call, with a problem that would affect the ceremony so greatly. The issue was resolved after some contemplation, but the professionalism of the staff continued to come into question with various other instances over the weekend. The rehearsal took place Friday evening before the wedding, and the manager was supposed to meet the group at 6:00 she never showed up. The caterer arrived the next morning it was a 10 AM ceremony followed by brunch to discover that the ovens were not functional and had a difficult time keeping all of the food warm with a limited supply of hot trays. Whether the staff failed to inform its customer of that fact or whether they were simply unaware of the functionality of their appliances does not speak well for the business. In the end, regardless of the surprises, it was a magnificent wedding. You can't let things beyond your control spoil something so beautiful. Do I think my sister would go back and do everything the exactly the same? Probably not. At least she will have some interesting stories to tell about the day she got married. As for me, it gave me an new Yelp review to write. The B O really is a hidden gem in terms of its elegance and unique banquet setting, but the staff needs to step it up in terms of their performance. Lastly, I can't speak for the brews that are made here, as I have never tried any, and being a big time craft beer drinker I'd love to give them a try, but I won't deny that my desire to rush back has been hindered by the banquet hall's competence.

If you like beer and you don 't stop in to get some Rust Belt brew, well, you don 't *really* like beer. On my first quest to get some Rust Belt brew, they hooked me, but I needed to get me some Blonde before I was a true lifer. On my last outing to the Boxcar Lounge, that 's exactly what I did and it was everything I 'd hoped for. It is smooth, but light. It is not Lite, as in Miller. In fact, it isn 't Bud, Coors, or even, dare I say, Corona. It is a great summer beer. It also is not available in any form other than straight from the tap (currently anyway). So as I 'm sitting outside enjoying my beer, over walks a gent who introduces himself as Ken. Quickly I realize that this is Ken Blair, the owner and mastermind behind this little venture. I compliment him on all the beers and he offers a tour of the place. The wife and I finish our beers and head over to the side door. This was an excellent decision. Inside there are all of the things that are required to make beer. And Ken is a great guy. He showed us the process. I decided to get a couple of growlers, one of the Blonde for sure. We chatted about his route to becoming a part time brewery owner (yes he has another job, you 'll have to take the tour to find out what it is). We chatted about his philosophy in the venture. We chatted about a lot of things. All the while, he 's working on getting our growlers filled. Because it was taking some time (he had to hook things up to his cooler tap), he pours us a couple of mini pints. First the Red, then a more generous pour of the Blonde. This is good stuff on a Thursday night. We finally walk out about an hour later having enjoyed a couple of complimentary beers, toting a couple of growlers filled for $7 a piece, and sporting a couple of Rust Belt Brew T shirts (on the house). It pays to be the only ones on the tour . In summary, here 's what you need to know: Ken is a passionate guy, about his beer, his business and his adopted hometown They brew 4 beers right now: 1) Blast Furnace Blonde 2) Coke Oven Stout 3) Rusted River Irish Red Ale 4) Old Man Hopper India Pale Ale The beers are good in part because they lured away a brewmaster from Penn Brewing. Growlers are $3. Ken fills them for $7 every Thursday/Friday 4 7, Saturday Noon 5 cash only Ken does tours during the same hours that he fills growlers. Look for (or ask for) these beers wherever you are reading this, Ken 's expanding quickly and would love to add new distributors. Yes this review is for Rust Belt Brewery, but it 's still in the old B&O Station, so I 'll keep it under that heading. Check this place out.

I had my wedding reception here and my wedding on the dock overlooking the Mahoning River. It is gorgeous inside--a classic, historic Youngstown venue. I'm so grateful that this and other unique downtown venues are kept open!