YOUNGSTOWN Owners of a Youngstown restaurant have submitted plans to the city to construct a winery, pavilion, and bocce court on the property adjacent to its current facility on Valley Street.

Yosteria’s proposal involves the construction of a new winery building and a separate event pavilion on the lot east of the restaurant.

The project is scheduled for review by the Youngstown Design Review Committee during its public meeting on Tuesday.

Documents submitted for the design review outline the planned aesthetic and functional details of the expansion.

Both the winery and the event pavilion would feature black metal siding and black roofing. The designs also include black garage doors on both buildings.

The winery building will be connected to the existing outdoor seating area by a gravel surface.

The second new structure, the event pavilion, would be built on a lawn, which includes an outdoor bocce court for public use.

Bocce (pronounced BO-chee) is a sport that originated in Italy and is similar to lawn bowling. The objective is for players to roll their bocce balls closest to a smaller target ball, called a pallino or jack, that is thrown onto the court first. The game is typically played on a long, narrow court of dirt or grass.

Yosteria’s concept draws from the Italian tradition of the “osteria,” which are wine bars serving simple food and regional specialties. Co-owner Alex Zordich said the restaurant was inspired by a vision to foster a sense of community while introducing the public to regional Italian food and wine.

Osterias are often named for their city or the family running them, and the restaurant's name is a reference to its Youngstown location, which sits in the historic Smoky Hollow neighborhood.

The neighborhood was once an immigrant community saturated with smoke from nearby steel mills. Zordich noted his ancestors settled in Smoky Hollow after immigrating from Italy.

He studied winemaking in Italy and worked for wineries in New Zealand, Italy, and Napa Valley before opening the restaurant in his hometown.