While I normally post very lighthearted and fun posts this one is a bit more on the serious side. If there is not awareness drawn to the reasoning behind the Terminal Brewhouse closing, the future of our city very well may be effected in a very unfortunate way.
Why Terminal Brewhouse Is Closing
Last week Terminal Brewhouse announced on their Facebook page they will be closing due to irreconcilable lease issues. It is sad to see some of the original believers in the revitalization of the Southside Historic District pushed out due to something like this.
The Stong Building
The building that currently houses the Terminal Brewhouse is The Stong Building. The Stongs were a prominent family in Chattanooga history and will be covered further in my Historical Chattanooga series.
The flatiron style building was originally the Terminal Hotel built around 1909-1910 used to house railroad passengers. It was later purchased by Chester Davis who bought the property with his tips from being a porter at the train station in three parts between 1944 and 1959. It was renamed the Weekend Hotel and Tavern in 1960 and by 1970 it was just the Weekend Tavern.
Reviving The Southside Historic District
As train travel fell out of favor to other quicker ways of travel this area of Chattanooga understandably became less of an economic hub. The last 20 years have seen the revitalization of The Southside Historic District. CityScope magazine covers that in detail in their the making of a district section.
In 2006 the Stong building was condemned and the second and third floors had caved in. It was bought at auction by Joe Sliger and more than $3 million was invested in the building towards renovation.
Appreciating The Founders Of Terminal Brewhouse
Three years later, the Terminal Brewhouse opened in the Stong Building. With quotes like
“Old buildings are a critical part of our business model Chattanooga has a ton of them, and they fit our penchant for Old-World style pubs. There’s a built-in personality and atmosphere you can’t fake. You can build a new building that has qualities of an old building, but it doesn’t feel the same.” – Matt Lewis
and
“We’re making a new history on the Southside. To us, that always includes maintaining some of the history that’s already there.” – Matt Lewis
it’s obvious that they have a special place in their heart for historic Chattanooga. With out the Terminal Brewhouse it’s possible the Southside Historic District would not have had the glow up that it has. I want to take a moment to say a special thank you to them for appreciation the history of Chattanooga.
Keeping Gentrification Out of Chattanooga
Last year Forbes named the Southside Historic District a neighborhood to watch. Thats super exciting for Chattanooga and the tourism industry here. It is also scary for reasons such as this. As a community it is important to make sure as we grow and the different areas are revived through the hardwork, determination, and love of local small business owners those very same people aren’t pushed out once the area gets more successful.
