The end of 2021 also brought a close to a three decades-long staple in downtown Covington: Old Town Cafe, the reliable, no-frills, hometown Pike Street diner, unashamed of its late-eighties, early-nineties-inspired atmosphere. Downtown workers and residents, politicians and movers-and-shakers loyally flocked under the Old Town awning and popped a seat at the lunch counter or a booth.
Old Town’s departure upon its owners’ retirement left a void in the downtown dining landscape. Though Covington has seen a surge in more ambitious dining establishments in recent years, Old Town was the only spot for something delicious – and simple, like a hot sandwich and soup cooked in front of you, and you could be in and out in 30 or 45 minutes, leaving enough time for a cigarette before heading back to work.
Since 2022 began, the Old Town windows and the glass on the front door have been covered, indicating work was underway for what comes next for the tiny space at 8 West Pike Street.
Turns out, it’s Pike Street.
That’s the name of a forthcoming diner working to open up shop at the space after a complete overhaul of the interior and exterior aesthetics. Like Old Town, it will serve breakfast and lunch.
Those exterior changes are what landed new owner Anthony Faeth, of Mainstrasse’s Cedar fame, in front of the City of Covington’s board of architectural review and development (BOARD).
The current building, dwarfed by its taller neighbors, has a single door and a small window on each side. The western window is where passersby could wave at previous owner and operator Frank Bonfilio as he grilled burgers or fried eggs.
But in recent weeks, that window was removed and filled in with glass block, a no-no, according to City of Covington historic design guidelines. At the end of March, a stop-work order was placed on the door by the City of Covington as the work had been done without permission.
“That was on me,” Faeth told the BOARD on Wednesday night as he hoped to win retroactive approval for the glass block window that he installed.
Faeth and architect Cody Chitwood of Covington-based firm Hub + Weber mounted an argument that there is precedent for glass block on historic buildings in downtown Covington, specifically naming Madison Live on Madison Avenue and a few others nearby. Ultimately, BOARD determined that there is no other glass block at eye level in the historic district and that it would be inappropriate to have in the Pike Street building.
BOARD voted unanimously, 4-0, against retroactive approval. It will have to be restored with a more traditional glass.
Chitwood, who is also an appointed member of BOARD but recused himself in order to present on his client’s behalf, won approval on his request to reconstruct the storefront with a new design.
Faeth said that it was Chitwood who sold him originally on the glass block, an effort made easier when Faeth saw the full rendering of what Chitwood thought possible when the former Old Town space.
Pike Street, the diner, will be appear as a modern homage to mid-century eateries.
“The interior of the restaurant will be very midcentury, late ’50s to mid-’60s diner motif,” Faeth said. “We’re putting a lot of money into the building.”
The Cedar restaurant space on Main Street was cited by Faeth as an example of how transformative his enterprise’s work can be for a rundown space. It was previously a dingy dive bar in Mainstrasse but is now remodeled as a trendy breakfast, lunch and brunch spot that, according to Faeth, brings in more than $1 million a year in revenue.
In fact, it was during the demo of the Cedar space that the glass block in question was removed and then redeployed on Pike Street. “I took so much glass block out of Mulligan’s,” he said, referencing the name of the bar that preceded Cedar. “I have a truckload of it.”
With Pike Street, Chitwood aims to remove or cover most of the existing material at 9 West Pike. The plans call for a mix of materials like prefinished metal paneling in the parapet wall, a horizontal metal canopy, a vertical metal fin, large storefront glass, and a horizontal metal batten.
“That building right now is just a hodgepodge of several different facades that have been on top of it. It has no personality, no distinction,” Faeth said. Citing Cedar’s success, Faeth said that “the facade is an appetizer for what the experience is going to be inside.”
“Our intention with anything we do is to make a gem in Covington, something memorable where we put a great light on the city,” he said.
The changes to the building on Pike Street will be stark. The window that was the subject of part of the hearing will still offer a view of where the cooking will be done – it’s where the commercial kitchen is. But the entrance will be larger with more window space to bring in more light.
“I loved Old Town Cafe,” Faeth told the BOARD, “but I feel like we’re taking this to the next level.”