Check out this ad for one of the coolest buildings in downtown Decatur – the currently vacant Houston House. I spotted it in the Jan/Feb issue of Southern Brew News next to an add for the Brick Store.
Gotta say, it would be a cool space for a pub of some sort. Or anything else where the public could lounge and enjoy the surroundings for that matter.
What do you think should take over this space?
Yeah, if they could turn it into a brewpub that served pizza, that would be, um, great. As a northsider, I hate having to go all the way to Twain’s for a brewpub or Sapori di Napoli for pizza.
Maybe a wine store and tasting space? Boutique hotel? Leon’s/Brick Store guys should grab it…
How about a good, upscale Mexican restaurant? At least we don’t already have 5 of those.
While we’re dreaming, I vote for Ethiopian, Hungarian, or Russian. We definitely don’t have any of those in the city limits.
Beautiful space. Does anyone know what the rent on it would be?
Well whatever it is, I hope they are able to retain the scale and character of house, inside and out. Fingers crossed.
A good quality vegetarian restaurant (not the kind that serve “faux meat”) would be great!
Great idea. I’m kind of surprised that Decatur doesn’t already have that. There’s a fair amount of vegetarian and even vegan teens around these days and it’s hard to find eating establishments with a lot of choices for them.
I feel like Souper Jenny goes a long way to filling that niche.
Having one vegan soup a day should satisfy an ever-growing community of vegetarians and vegans? Excuse me a moment while my head explodes…
Do they really only have one a day? I went this past weekend, and I felt like half their menu had the little “v” next to it. Of course, I rarely pay attention to menu notations anyway, so it is probably my perception that is off.
It’s a limited menu as it is, so yeah one might seem like a little, but one out of only four or five is not. Yesterday, two out of five available soups were vegan (not just vegetarian but vegan). Please, keep that head from exploding!
Now that said, I’m still dreaming of The Grit opening a new place in Decatur.
True, there were two yesterday. But no salad or sandwich, and probably not the rolls. So not even one actual meal option. Btw, nothing against Juicy Jenny…just the idea that all you have to do is throw us a meager bone (or maybe two) and thousands of us should shut up and crawl back into our holes. 🙂
Before anyone mentions it – I do understand that I could ask for all of the proteins to be taken off the sandwiches and salads, but I’m a little tired of requesting that all of the expensive ingredients are removed from menu items so that I can pay full price for a whole lotta not much that doesn’t satisfy taste or nutrition.
To bring up Jenny again – if Juicy Jenny, with their all vegan lunch buffet, were to open a location in Decatur, I’d be one happy hole-dweller!
bring back Brother Juniper’s!
Why do people think this is such a cool space? I understand it’s old.
It’s actually not that great of space. It’s a great location for sure, and has potentially great outdoor space, but the house itself is all segmented up in ways that make any kind of business or customer flow pretty awkward.
My hope is that someone with deep pockets and serious vision emerges because, with a total gutting and renovation, that house could be a total gem.
Deep pockets indeed. The Decatur-based general contractor who did the reno on our house a couple years ago regaled us with tales of working on the Houston House in the 80s or 90s. Apparently that work was just to shore it up structurally, and he indicated to do a full update on it would be quite the Herculean effort.
Not disputing that it could use updating.
Just for context – the current owner bought it from the estate of the last Houston (pronounced How-stun) that lived there – Katie Hazel Houston. Her dad built it around 1905. So there’s really only been two owners of the place (including the current owner). Katie Hazel was old and blind when she died, so there was a lot of deferred maintenance.
But, the house survived being picked up and moved by a pack of mules (it used to sit where the Brick Store/Sweet Melissa’s sits) and placed back down facing Church Street. The house survived five girls (Katie and her sisters) being born and raised and running wild there. The house survived the MARTA trench coming through within spittin’ distance. The house was built solid and built to last. It’s one of the last vestiges of early 20th century residential architecture in downtown Decatur that sits on its original lot (although in a different spot on that lot), with a few other notables nearby – hello High House.
It’s a marker to our past, and there’s a place for it in our future. It’s in good hands now, but it needs an active use to help it survive. I hope that the future is bright for the house and I hope the future is respectful and retains all the important historical elements that have helped it survive all these years.
decatur history museum?
Geoff I couldn’t agree with you more! Great house, great bones and great potential.
I couldn’t agree more. I just hope whoever the new lease holder turns out to be is as cognizant of its history and importance as you are and doesn’t half-ass the work required to keep it a vibrant part of the community.
maybe a house of ill repute would fit the space best.
The Dekalb CEO’s office already does an admirable job of filling this role.
“Like”ing that comment simply isn’t enough. I had to give a separate comment to give this brilliant jab its due. Well done.
Scott – I would encourage anyone thinking that an old “outdated” building that is “all segmented up in ways that make any kind of business or customer flow pretty awkward” to take a look at what just happened to the Flat Iron Building in downtown Atlanta. As luck would have it, the Atlanta Business Chronicle has an online photo tour out today – Google is your friend.
Having been in that building pre-reno, it was about as outdated and awkward as a building gets.
Someone with “deep pockets and serious vision” got a hold of that building and, WITHOUT a total gutting, they turned it into “a total gem.” Clearly, it’s a wildly different scale and a totally different scenario, but I just wanted to beat the horse one more time and say that the right person just MIGHT be able to get something done at 418 Church St. without a total gutting. I could be wrong, but I’d like to think it’s not out of the realm of possibilities.
No subscripty! Nonetheless, I was of course speaking to the fact that they’re pushing for a pub or similar type business in there and having an awkward flow — from floor operations to sight lines to serving — is a typical leasing objection for such folks. That’s not to say that it can’t be done or that there aren’t any pubs in nooky old places. Just that it limits the pool of potential lessees. The wish for a deep pocketed overhauler was not to suggest it couldn’t continue in its present configuration. Rather, it was to ensure that the building would again be easily occupied and used by a wide variety of potential tenants, thus ensuring its continued longevity.
It’s that wish for ongoing relevance and longevity that we clearly share.
I see the outdoor space as the biggest asset. Several good suggestions about what might work here to utilize that, but the economics are a challenge.
Could I afford to visit on a regular basis something that would have to charge pretty high margins to make the numbers work? Booze fits the bill for high margins, but there’s no shortage of competition for that dollar. Fancy breakfast maybe (I’d kill for good bagels closer than Toco Hills) but I can’t say I’d personally go there enough given i work in the suburbs and we have a new waffle house (plus several other good choices.) Coffee? You’re literally right between two good options already.
What else has high enough margins to overcome the slow turns and small space? Would have to be something pretty special or differentiated.
Trader Joe’s.
(Somebody had to say it)
A bed and breakfast right on the square would be so awesome!
It would be a great spot for some professional offices — like attorneys or architects — except that there’s no parking.
I think it would be the perfect setting for a concept like this: http://www.batteryparkbookexchange.com/
It would make a gorgeous bookstore, reading nooks and all. Ok, I know why that’s not viable but I wish…
See my post just above! Bookstore + champagne = viability.
Right . . . ?
Ooooh, great minds thinking alike at almost the same exact time….yes, alcohol and coffee seem to make anything viable in Decatur. Great idea.
DecaturMeteo I have tried to respond to some misunformation re Houston House. 1st there was NO general contractor in the restoration. So whoever claimed to be the GC is mistaken. 2nd There was no structural work required. The house was sound. The house was totally rewired and replumbed. Approx 25% of the exterior siding was replaced. 90% of the interior walls were removed and REPLASTERED. A dual HVAC system was installed. The old wood shingle roof was removed, new decking, underlayment and shingles installed. The front and rear porch floors were replaced. Fire escape, fire alarm, and handicap ramp installed. The floors redone. The entire interior and exterior repainted.And more til the details are boring to all. Bottom line it was not a simple temporary fix. It received the highest award given to a restoration by the Georgia Trust. (The only one I’m aware of in all Decatur history )
Hi Stephen,
Since it was me who posted that, I’ll clarify: Note that I said the person in question was GC on OUR renovation, not the renovation of the Houston House. He just said he was involved in that work. And while I could swear he mentioned shoring up the structure (the convo happened as we were doing structural work on our own place, also early 20th Century), I could be misremembering that. He did say the work was extensive, as you indicate, and mentioned the new HVAC and plumbing, and what an interesting job it was to be involved with. He had a lot of admiration for the house (as we do), and I think there was some thinking out loud on all our parts (primarily my wife’s) about what would be required to return it to a private residence.
I don’t know if the business model would warrant the rent/mortgage, but a small inn/B&B right on the square could likely charge a premium.
One word: BAGELS.