Bocce and Pasta, Welcome to the MVR

Immigrants are the backbone of the nation and of Youngstown as well. In the early 1800s many flocked to the Mahoning Valley searching for work with large numbers of immigrants setting up residence on the west side of Crab Creek; an area that became know as Smoky Hollow – earning the name from the smoke-filled skies compliments of the nearby Mahoning Valley Iron Company. Though the diversity of people who came to Youngstown at this time was extensive, the Italian-American community was drawn to Smoky Hollow. It was in the 1920s when the Cassesse family opened the Mahoning Valley Restaurant – fondly called the MVR by the locals. Great Italian food was its trademark then as it is today. The Smoky Hollow region of the city was a very viable area up until the early 1960s when the neighborhood began to deteriorate, but the MVR hung-on.

Today Youngstown State University butts up the Smoky Hollow region and a local group of merchants has vowed to revitalize the area by creating the Wick District-Smoky Hollow retail corridor with the MVR acting as its anchor. And while the area strives to renew itself – the University Courtyard Apartments; a $22 million public-private partnership project catering exclusively to YSU students is located nearby – no matter the progress, the MVR is thriving.

When hunger hit Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign entourage while in Youngstown this fall, the group placed a call to Cassese’s MVR and within the hour John and Cindy McCain were…