75 years and counting

Cafaro family, business marking milestone

NILES -- The Cafaro Company -- one of the largest privately held real estate developers in the U.S. -- is marking its milestone 75th anniversary in 2024, but the industrious spirit upon which the company was founded goes back even further.

William M. Cafaro, like thousands of other young men in the Mahoning Valley at the time -- the 1930s -- worked in a steel mill in Youngstown, this one Truscon Steel on Albert Street.

He quickly earned the reputation as a problem-solver.

As the story goes -- told by William's grandson, Anthony Cafaro Jr. and in the book, "The Life and Legacy of William M. Cafaro 'A Man for All Seasons'" by Thomas G. Welsh Jr. -- a shipment of steel had been rejected by General Motors in Detroit, not because the sheets were structurally unsound, but because a number of them were discolored, and Cafaro spoke up, telling his supervisor he could solve the problem, guaranteeing the automaker would accept the metal sheets.

"The guy was like, 'OK Cafaro, I'll give you your shot,'" Anthony Jr. said, adding his grandfather's foreman was doubtful Cafaro could make it happen.

So over the next few days, William and other men put the individual sheets in other shipments destined for the Motor City; they were, as Cafaro expected, all accepted by GM. That earned him a promotion to assistant quality control engineer.

It was toward the end of 1932. William was 19. And a national development, the election of President Franklin D. Roosevelt signaled an end to Prohibition.

What happens next is another example of William's diligence and gift for knowing when to take advantage of an opportunity -- theme's that continued through the formation and operation of the Cafaro Company that carry on still to this day.

PUTTIN' ON THE RITZ

The family owned a building at the corner of Wilson Avenue and Shehy Street south of downtown that William's father, Antonio, agreed to let William and his brother, John, use for a tavern, the book states.

"But they didn't have the capital to make this happen, so what my grandfather did, as the story goes, he sold meal tickets to basically this yet to be opened Ritz Bar, supper club, and said once I open this, you can redeem this for a free meal and drinks," Anthony Jr. said. "So, it was kind of the original crowdfunding."

William raised enough money to open the Ritz Bar in 1934. His family for several years operated the club, which became a hot spot; over the years, such well-known entertainers as Frank Sinatra and Tommy Dorsey performed and dined there, Anthony Jr. said, as a stopover between gigs.

"That's pretty much how he got his start in business," Anthony Jr. said. "And the thing about my grandfather is timing. He wasn't afraid; he took risks."

In 1946, the year Anthony's father, Anthony Cafaro Sr., was born, William, in partnership with his brother John and two other men, acquired Warren Motors in Warren, selling Plymouth and DeSoto autos. The dealership was sold in 1958.

THE MOVE INTO PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT

As Welsh's book states, taking notice of the rise of the highway system and suburban communities among other postwar trends, William set out to build a freestanding grocery store in Barberton near Akron. The Kroger, an 11,000-square-foot store, opened in 1949.

It was the same year Sharon Towne Center, a strip plaza, opened in Sharon, Pa., ushering in the existence of the Cafaro Company.

Many other plazas and building openings -- in the region and outside of Ohio -- followed, from the Glenwood Plaza in 1951 to the McKinley Heights Shopping Plaza in McKinley Heights in 1954 to the Elm Road Plaza in Warren in 1956 to McGuffey Plaza in Youngstown in 1957.

In 1961, the company opened the Garland Plaza in Youngstown and Struthers Fifth Street Plaza, which Cafaro Company still operates.

The company's first enclosed shopping center was American Mall in Lima, opening in 1964, the same year the company opened the Cafaro Building, its headquarters, in Youngstown.

Following was a series of enclosed malls, said Anthony Jr., including centers in Saginaw, Michigan, and Dubuque, Iowa. As the mall construction continued through the 1960s, '70s and '80s, the company didn't shift away from standalone plazas, but built them in communities where they had constructed malls, typically near the enclosed center.

Take Great East Plaza in Niles for example. It opened in 1973 adjacent to the Eastwood Mall, which opened four years prior.

William, said Anthony Jr., "was opportunistic and he had unique insight, not just on business happenings, but also on people and how he could negotiate with people."

"I think a lot of people assume that successful people are always out front talking and directing and making these monumental decisions along the way. I don't think that is what my grandpa was all about. He listened more than he talked," Anthony Jr. said. "When he was negotiating with somebody, he would understand what the other side was looking for and how do we meet their objective and make this a win-win scenario. I think he was extremely effective at that because he understood people as much as he understood business."

Anthony Jr. described his grandfather, born to Italian immigrants as "self-made, self-taught," and in the right place at the right time with the right idea.

PROGRESSION

Anthony Sr. was appointed company president in 1978 and William took the title of chairman. William's brother John also remained involved, overseeing and supervising construction projects. By then, William's younger son, J.J., also had a role with the company as executive vice president.

It was during the late 1970s through the mid- to late-1980s the company grew greatly, Anthony Jr. said. It was also a time when the Cafaro Company took a lot of risk and a lot of debt to build new retail centers.

"My grandfather had this ability to deal with people and he knew when to take opportunities. My dad, his greatest strength is his attention to detail, (he is) meticulous in his follow through and his ability to take an idea and turn it into a successful project," Anthony Jr. said.

"At the same time, what made my dad successful in many respects in his ability to do these things, is that a lot of the time the idea originated with his brother J.J.," he said. "J.J. was macro, his viewpoint on the industry and opportunities. He was the idea guy."

J.J. would pitch the idea; there would be debate; and when there was agreement, Anthony Sr. was the technician, making it happen.

"If not for J.J.'s prodding and seeking to grow the business, we would not have developed many of the projects in our portfolio, so they really complemented each other in a lot of respects for a lot of years," Anthony Jr. said.

And of course, William was there to mediate any sort of dispute.

The late 1980s also marked the company's partnership with a new and up-and-coming retailer -- Target. The Cafaro Company developed four Target stores in the Pacific Northwest that remain to this day at those same Cafaro-owned properties.

The Target store at Eastwood opened in 2000. It was the first Target to open in the Mahoning Valley, and the decision to partner with the retailer proved a good one -- Target is among the top retailers in the U.S.

William died in April 1998. His beloved wife, Alyce, died two years prior. In that time, William created the Cafaro Foundation in her memory. To date, the foundation has given away $24 million to support worthy causes in communities where the company operates, but mostly in the Mahoning Valley.

And through the course of the 75 years, the company has stayed privately held, not beholden to shareholders and driven by profit, but building something enduring for the Cafaro family, the company's employees and their families and the communities in which they operate.

"Would Eastwood mall, would the majority of our holdings be what they are today if we were not privately held? I can tell you with almost certainty that Eastwood Mall would not have experienced the growth because a lot of the decisions we have made, a lot of the investments we have made, if it were a public company, they would not have made them because the return on investment was a decade or decades long ... versus a quarterly return, and public companies don't look at things over several years or decades, they look at things now," Anthony Jr. said.

Eastwood Field is the best example. It's been about 25 years since the facility opened, and the company is just about to recoup its initial investment.

"Does that mean it wasn't a success for us? No, I think it was a tremendous success. I think it added value to not our community as a whole, but to our business interests and our assets here at the Eastwood Mall Complex," he said.

THE FUTURE

Anthony Jr. and his brother, William A., became co-presidents of the Cafaro Company in January 2010.

Ahead of that, the company began to reinvest in its properties, one per year and then two per year in the late 2000s. Eastwood underwent a renovation in 2006 and had more improvements done to it in 2019.

More recently, the complex has added some well-known retailers, including Boscov's department store and Bass Pro Shops, and in 2016, the Cafaro Company relocated its headquarters from Youngstown to a building adjacent to the mall.

Then in 2020, the 30,000-square-foot Eastwood Event Centre opened.

And along the way, the company diversified its offerings at its properties, including hotels, entertainment and residences. For example, a Dave & Buster's is under construction at Eastwood.

The company isn't a shopping center developer / owner, but a real estate developer / owner that seeks the "highest and best use" for each of its properties.

"The evolution of Eastwood over the past 25 years really demonstrates the mindset of being able to adapt as to what is needed in a given market," Anthony Jr. said.

At the company's Sandusky Mall Complex in Sandusky and the Spotsylvania Towne Centre in Fredericksburg, Virginia, the Cafaro Company has expanded into townhouse- and apartment-style living.

The Villas at Sandy Creek in Sandusky is a 126-unit gated community with one- and two-story townhouses with attached garages. It is near 100% capacity.

Attain at Towne Centre in Fredericksburg has 271 two- and three-bedroom luxury apartments. Leasing started in January.

Could that type of development be coming to Eastwood?

Given the sort of economic development projects happening, or planned, for the Mahoning Valley, which is in need of better housing options, "I think Eastwood can be part of that equation," Anthony Jr. said.