The Ironstone Restaurant found itself at the center of many lives throughout the years. It can be found in photos of proms, weddings, engagements, birthdays and all sorts of important milestone events in the lives of the citizens of Jamestown. Now under new owner Pati Centi, the Ironstone Restaurant has undergone a transformation and renovation to become the Landmark Restaurant.

“I named it the Landmark because Ironstone was a landmark,” she said. “… It was a landmark for so many people, and that is where we came up with the name.”

The Ironstone Restaurant’s roots reach as far back as 1946 when Tom Ciancio and his brother-in-law, Norman Caddy, opened the original Driftwood Restaurant on West Second Street in Jamestown. In 1963, the restaurant moved to Fairmount Avenue before the structure was destroyed by a fire in April 1966. On Sept. 5, 1968, the restaurant moved to Fourth Street after 18 months of extensive renovation to a former factory that later was used as a warehouse and auto body shop before its conversion to a restaurant. This is where it got the name the Ironstone Restaurant. On Dec. 16, 1994, the restaurant was devastated again by a fire, and had to be completely rebuilt. The renovation involved removing two upper floors, and on May 25, 1995, the restaurant re-opened again.

In 1998, ownership and management changed to William and Belene Moore of Erie, Pa., before closing on June 29, 2003, due to a bad economic climate. The next year it was purchased by Food Is Good Inc. – which owns several restaurants in the area including the Watermark, La Fleur and Olive’s in Mayville. For the next seven years it went through a series of owners and had been closed for close to two years before Centi bought it this past August.

Centi and her team live in Jamestown, and want to give their hometown an opportunity to have something different, some variety to choose from when they go out to eat.

“I love Jamestown,” she said. “It has a lot to offer, great people, I raised my kids here. All my crew grew up here. We all lived here.”

“(Jamestown is) kind of blooming into a culinary center again,” said Adam Greenwald, the chef for Landmark Restaurant.

Centi owns the Watermark Restaurant, a seasonal restaurant in Mayville, and wanted something which would complement the Watermark. After buying the Ironstone, she and her crew went to work renovating the place for the past couple of months. She said she looks forward to seeing her regular customers as well as working with her crew year-round. In addition to Centi, the Landmark Restaurant staff includes longtime employees Tom Ferri, Kaitlin Kilmartin and Megan Centi, chefs Greenwald and David Carlson, bartenders Greg “Tank” Auge and Rich Panebianco, and a group of experienced servers.

“The main thing we are going for is a steakhouse,” Greenwald said. “A mid-range, nothing too high end – although we will be doing specials running Monday through Thursdays and again on weekends. Really, what we are trying to do is provide something that’s not in Jamestown, and hasn’t been in a while.”

Centi said the menu will reflect the nature of the building – classic, with a little bit of something for everyone.

“Comfortable, casual dining,” she said.

“We dress up the food, so you don’t have to,” Greenwald joked.

Centi said her team can’t wait to open. The Landmark Restaurant, located at 516 W. Fourth St., will be open Monday-Saturday from 5-11 p.m. Lunch-ins will also be offered during the day for those who want to hold special events.