With housing units opening, new restaurants expand hours
By Katie Byard
Beacon Journal business writer
Published on Monday, Aug 16, 2010
For years, Chuck Magilavy of the Diamond Deli had little competition on his stretch of South Main Street.
''I got spoiled,'' Magilavy said.
There were only a few other eateries, a pizza shop, a bar and a sit-down restaurant, within about a block of the deli at the south end of downtown Akron.
But suddenly four more casual food joints have landed.
In the last year, Jimmy John's, Rubber City Grill and Subway have opened within a block or so of Magilavy's place at 378 S. Main St.
And on the way is a Pita Pit, set to open this month.
One obvious reason is 22 Exchange, the privately owned student housing at South Main and East Exchange, across from Diamond Deli.
With the second-phase of the complex opening this weekend, 22 Exchange will house more than 400 students — most of whom attend the University of Akron nearby.
Magilavy, who has owned Diamond Deli for 13 years, is responding to the influx of students and the competition with longer hours.
Beginning Aug. 23, the deli will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.
''We've had students across the street [at 22 Exchange] say, 'If you were open longer, we'd be here more,' '' Magilavy said.
Jimmy John's, a franchise of the Illinois sub chain popular among the college crowd, opened last summer in one of 22 Exchange's storefronts facing Main.
''We saw it as a prime location,'' said Jimmy John's franchisee Tony Anzaldi, 44, of Tallmadge. He also owns a Jimmy John's in the Belden Village shopping area in Jackson Township.
The downtown Akron Jimmy John's, like the nearby Subway, stays open until 3 a.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays to attract the bar crowd. The soon-to-open Pita Pit also plans to stay open until 3 a.m. those days.
Jimmy John's customer base also includes a lot of daytime downtown workers, Anzaldi said. Catering and deliveries account for 45 to 50 percent of sales, he said.
About a block north is Rubber City Grill. The restaurant, which serves pizza, burgers and hoagies, opened this spring inside Lux Nightclub & Ultra Lounge at 1 W. Exchange St.
Also this spring, the Subway franchise opened in a vacant storefront across Exchange from Rubber City Grill.
The Subway at the southwest corner of Main and Exchange streets took the space that had previously housed the Fuel bar. At one time, the place housed Mijo's House of Paprikash, once a downtown landmark.
Subway franchisee Marilyn Bolt of Green, who owns seven other area Subways, said she learned of the vacancy through her dentist, William Crucs, who is an owner of the 1938 building.
Locating near other eateries made sense, said Bolt, 56, who owns the downtown Subway with her daughter Taina Nagle, 32, of Green.
Restaurants tend to cluster near each other, Bolt said. ''Food just attracts more food, and hopefully more customers.''
Bolt said business at the Subway at 348 S. Main St. has been a bit slow on weekends.
She's optimistic sales will improve once students return for the fall semester.
The soon-to-open Pita Pit, a franchise of the Idaho chain that offers pita sandwiches and smoothies, will be in the historic Kaiser Building, at 325 S. Main St., across from Canal Park.
John Cavileer, 28, and Matt Mayo, 27, are financing the $260,000 cost of opening the Pita Pit franchise with the help of a loan backed by the Small Business Administration.
Cavileer, who manages rental property near the UA campus and has a master's degree in management from UA, said it is his first franchise venture.
He said the recession is prompting young people like himself to look into franchises.
''I think of lot of young people are realizing they are going to have to make their own way right now,'' he said. ''You can't rely on anybody else.''
Magilavy, 54, with the Diamond Deli, is concerned about all the competition, especially during an economic downturn.
He blames the recession for sales being pinched over the last two years.
But Magilavy said he's understanding, and he will be part of a block party — in the planning stages — featuring the various eateries.
''We're trying to help each other out,'' he said.
''They're all trying to make a living. Just like I'm trying to do.''
Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com.
