By Bri Spencer and Matthew Sotlar / The Jambar
Every Tuesday, doors open at 4 p.m. for Penguin City Brewing Co. to host Bartell’s Take on Tokyo House, a spin on a former Japanese restaurant in the Mahoning Valley.
The former Tokyo House was owned and operated by Can and Hin Dao until mid-2019. Following the Daos’ retirement, Tokyo House sat vacant on South Avenue until March 2024, when it was demolished and later replaced with a Shell gas station.
Justin Bartell, owner of Bartell’s Take on Tokyo, offers Tokyo-themed dishes at Penguin City every Tuesday evening. As a Youngstown native, Bartell said he appreciates the community support.
“I’m just a little guy making some Japanese food, but we’re trying,” Bartell said. “It’s cool to see people coming down [to Penguin City] and really supporting us.”
Bartell and his wife, Cara Bartell, are part of a Facebook group created in 2007 that quickly evolved after the businesses’ closure. The group shared recipes and experiences recreating dishes from Dao’s Tokyo House. Bartell blossomed on this platform, sharing his own recreations that eventually kick-started his business.
Bartell’s Take first opened in January 2024 as a way to honor the Dao’s Tokyo House recipes. According to the menu, some dishes include chicken teriyaki, sweet and sour chicken, fried rice with vegetables and Bartell’s homemade yum yum sauce.
Bartell said he is proud of his business and wishes to expand it, but doesn’t want to replace Tokyo House.
“I don’t want people to think I’m trying to be Can or Tokyo House — he was one of a kind. I can’t mimic him completely,” Bartell said. “I just want to try to keep the food alive and keep people reminiscing about the Tokyo House.”
Bartell has kept the menu similar to Tokyo House, varying only a few items. One change is the addition of zucchini to its mixed vegetables. Bartell also explained there are a few menu items of Tokyo House’s that they haven’t gotten around to recreating yet.
Bartell is continuing to experiment with different recipes for various menu items, trying to closely replicate Tokyo House. Bartell said he wants to ensure that the menu is full of food that will be loved by the community.
“[We’re] just trying different things until we find something that we really like and that people will love as well,” Bartell said.
Bartell continues to do catering orders and pop-up events around the community. Bartell’s Take will unveil its new food truck from 4-9 p.m. Feb. 21 at Birdfish Brewing Co. in Columbiana.
The event marks Bartell’s first food truck, as Bartell expressed a desire to serve food in northeast Ohio.
More information about Bartell’s Take on Tokyo can be found on its website and Facebook page.