By Mick Dillon / The Jambar
Located on Elm Street just outside of the Youngstown State University campus, Bull & Bear Grille and Tavern opened its doors in August 2024. Since then, the eatery has become a popular hangout for YSU students and members of the community alike.
Being so close to a college campus, weekly specials have become Bull & Bear’s bread and butter. Happy hour runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Happy hour specials include $5 appetizers with chips, pierogi and pickle fries being the most popular items. Drink specials include $1.50 domestic pints, $3.50 seltzers and $5 mixed drinks.
Cristel Yost, assistant manager and bartender, has been working at the Elm Street tavern since it opened and attributes a large amount of its success to YSU students who seek out specials and become regulars.
“Seeing the groups of people that visit us regularly, and they’ve kind of made this their second home in between classes … [YSU students] definitely make it a spot that they frequent often,” Yost said.
Though YSU students keep Bull & Bear busy during the school year, Yost said it slows down during the summer and the restaurant will be closed for most of this upcoming summer.
“We [will] close during the summertime just because business does slow down here, but we are grateful that every year and even right after graduation, people keep coming back here,” Yost said. “We want to be open for things like the Y-Live concert that’s going to be down here at Stambaugh [Stadium] … if that’s at a time that we’re closed, we will open for normal service those couple days.”
In addition to the proximity and frequent specials, Yost said patrons keep coming back to Bull & Bear for the friendly staff.
“Whether it be the bartender that’s on staff or even the servers, we have people that come in to see Laura [Powell] on Thursday nights or Mo [Yusuf] on the weekends,” Yost said. “I think that [patrons] like knowing and getting to know who is working.”
Bull & Bear features a wide-variety menu of tavern-style eats with featured items such as fried chicken wings, pizza and burgers.
While most of the appetizers are frozen and fried foods, the atmosphere, frequent events and affordable drinks keep the college crowd coming back for more.
Each week, Bull & Bear hosts trivia Tuesday nights and karaoke Friday nights. Tonight will be the first time Bull & Bear is partnering with YSU athletes for a team-oriented, karaoke sing-off.
Student-athletes can come in at 7 p.m. to participate in the festivities. The staff will be voting on each team’s song, and the winners will receive Bull & Bear gift cards.
Those interested in more events or weekly specials can find the information at the Bull & Bear website or its social media pages.