New owners of Bankz Salon to open Italian restaurant downtown
How did a Bellville restaurateur, winemaker and businessman come to own a downtown hair salon with his wife in a former bank building at Third and Main streets downtown Mansfield?
Don VanMeter said he loves old real estate and plans to expand salon and spa services at the salon in the coming months with more massage rooms, pedicure and manicure rooms, facials and spray tan rooms. The owners just hired two estheticians.
And fortunately for downtown Mansfield, the VanMeters also plan to open an Italian restaurant called Billetti's, named after Don's late grandfather Pat Billetti who was born in Sicily and came to America and settled in Youngstown.
And the new Italian eatery is going to be either in the basement of a neighboring building the VanMeters own or some other downtown building with historic character.
Don VanMeter loves old real estate
Don is in the real estate investment business and said he loves old real estate. He marveled at the downtown buildings with such great architecture including The Bissman Building and the old Ohio Brass building.
"I love old real estate. I love old architecture," he said. "We are actually a real estate investment company that owns businesses that pay for our real estate," he added.
The VanMeters salon and spa at 42 N. Main St. has hair stylists doing hair for men and women.
Donnie and Jennifer VanMeter recently celebrated a grand re-opening of the Bankz Salon & Spa, having purchased the business from previous owner Andi Hale. The new owners opened the business on Aug. 19.
The VanMeters have owned The Wishmaker House Bed & Breakfast Restaurant & Winery at 116 Main St., in Bellville for the past 4½ years.
VanMeters also own Old Franklin Church building
The couple also own the Old Franklin Church off Ohio 545, which is available for events including graduations and weddings in the sanctuary. Eventually the couple plans to rent two rooms as an Airbnb.
Don VanMeter said about a year and a half ago, he realized that Wishmaker House was running out of space to produce enough wine.
"The intention was to start making wine next door," he said of the salon. However, he found a demand for office space and within a month of buying the old bank building had both floors next door filled with tenants wanting more room.
So they didn't put their wine tanks over there, not wanting their tenants to have to move.
He said when he walked inside the bank/salon he said he was taken aback at how beautiful the building was.
He was making small talk with the then owner of the Bankz Salon about owning the building and before long, he and his wife became the new owners.
He plans to make wine in the basement or the neighboring building he and his wife own.
Bankz Salon clients to be treated like queens
Don VanMeter said the prices at the salon are comparable to other salons in the area. He said every client who comes to the salon will be treated like a queen and have "an experience."
The salon is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Fridays, 9 to 5 p.m.; with Saturday hours 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Every customer receives a complimentary glass of Wishmaker wine and a slice of their famous cheesecake. The salon and spa can be reached at 419-524-2259.
The bank was opened by Citizens National Bank, which later merged with Mansfield Savings into First National Bank of Mansfield. KeyBank moved into the building and closed its doors to the downtown branch on Sept. 28, 2012. The building sat vacant until 2015 when Hale turned it into a salon.
VanMeter said the bank building was supposed to be six floors and construction began in 1925 but then the stock market crashed in 1929 and the building was scaled down to constructed with three floors.
Don VanMeter has plans to add a chandelier to his office and expose the crown molding.
Originally from Youngstown, VanMeter said he and his wife live in Bellville not far from the Wishmaker House.
They plan to juggle their many businesses with the help of the manager of Wishmaker House and look forward to providing people with Italian cuisine.
lwhitmir@nncogannett.com
419-521-7223
Twitter: @LWhitmir
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Bankz Salon new owners plan to open Italian restaurant downtown
