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  Blue Wolf Tavern Turns Corner On 20th Year In Business  
  March 25, 2021 Edition  
     For the last two decades, Blue Wolf Tavern, located at 1295 Boardman-Canfield Rd., has served the Mahoning Valley. This year, the restaurant that first opened in Struthers in 2001 celebrates 20 years in business.
      First opening in a smaller community like Struthers, Executive Chef Joe Rzonsa knew that a high-end restaurant would have to pull its market from all of the local communities. And the support from those communities played a large role in the restaurant’s success, according to Rzonsa.
      The family-owned restaurant expanded and moved to its current location in Boardman in June 2004. Rzonsa said the support remained strong. And with more space, resources and exposure, the restaurant was able to provide more jobs to the community.
      While he takes great pride in the restaurant’s 20 years of success, the most rewarding thing to happen during that time was meeting his wife, Stacey, who played a pivotal role in the expansion of Blue Wolf Events into a premier event company in 2011. She is the vice president of Blue Wolf Tavern and director of Blue Wolf Events.
      “This journey has given me a family and a career that I love,” said Stacey. “The success we’ve had is the perfect cherry on top. It’s a great feeling to know that the work Joe and I have done is paying off. And the most fulfilling part is that we’ve done it as a family.”
      In 2014, Blue Wolf Events moved to the Maronite Center to continue its planning and catering events. As director, Stacey is proud of their reputation to deliver intimate and exquisite experiences for all special occasions.
      “The community was behind us when we moved to Boardman,” said Joe Rzonsa. “Struthers and other communities followed us to our current location and were happy about our success and expansion. We couldn’t be where we are today without all the support we’ve gotten. And that’s not just the people that eat here, but it’s also the people that work here and trust us with their livelihoods. The people make us who we are.”
      Rzonsa originally envisioned an establishment with great-tasting food, using fresh and homegrown ingredients. Fast-forward 20 years, and the family-owned restaurant has accomplished exactly that.
      Instead of focusing on a single type of cuisine, Blue Wolf offers a diverse, farm-to-fork menu. Offering award-winning handcrafted recipes, Joe believes that the consistency of the food and staff have carried them the whole way.
      “We’ve done things pretty consistently over the past 20 years,” said Joe. “There have been some small changes to our menus and recipes, but for the most part we do the same thing we did 20 years ago, and we still do it as good as we did then.”
      Experiencing business after the events of 9/11 in 2001 to enduring the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Joe said there have been obstacles since day one. But reflecting on the peaks and valleys allows him to put the last 20 years in perspective.
      “It’s kind of bittersweet because you think of all the trying times and long hours,” said Joe. “But then you think of all the great successes. I know how long I want to do this for, and I know the kind of legacy we want to leave. These 20 years have been such an important part of my life.”
     
 
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