Mo' on the Ho
Wednesday's Herald has a story about the new Northside Cafe (which was first reported about here) and a local businessman's plans for the old Westward Ho building. Bill Graveline says the new restaurant will open in mid-March. He also says that, not including the restaurant's space, there are 18,000 square feet available for businesses. Also, apparently we shouldn't be holding out hope for any return to the kitschy Western theme of years gone by.
I'm happy to hear that Mr. Graveline is trying to improve at least one small area of Gateway Drive. The old Ho building has been a terrible eyesore the last few years. I really hope it's appearance is improved with this new restaurant.
Still, I wonder how much hope there is for finding real quality tenants for the building. Graveline says "I'd be interested in any tenant that would want to talk to me"...doesn't sound like they've exactly been lining up so far.
I still can't help but think that it might be better if everything from the Carpet Garage west to Simplot was torn down. I hope that Weekley's and the Transport, Inc. building will be torn down soon as has been talked about. I'm no fan of the old motel next to the Ho building, either. I would personally like to see it torn down and the property redeveloped.
BTW, the Herald's outrageous title, "Yo-a go for the Ho", for their story was the reason behind my own little tacky title. Forgive me.
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17 comments:
"I still can't help but think that it might be better if everything from the Carpet Garage west to Simplot was torn down. I hope that Weekley's and the Transport, Inc. building will be torn down soon as has been talked about. I'm no fan of the old motel next to the Ho building, either. I would personally like to see it torn down and the property redeveloped."
I dunno, Sparky. One minute you're in favor of growth in this city, and the next you advocate getting rid of businesses that you just don't like the site of. What's this "properly redeveloped" crap? You want to tell all the people who work at Simplot that, sorry, they have to find new jobs because Simplot doesn't fit your ideal of making Grand Forks into the Disney World of the North?
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"west TO Simplot."
You're quick to condemn, Matthew. Have another cup of coffee, man. :o)
It's a shame the facade is gone. It was by far the #1 landmark in Grand Forks, not Smily.
I think Graveline is hoping the Bronson development will spill over. Regardless, it's great to see someone putting some support behind a northside neighborhood. I hear the Northside Cafe will be run by the same people who own the highly regarded Reeves Drive B&B. If that's the case and their food matches their hospitality, GF diners could be in for a treat.
Hey anon, you may be confused. I believe the Gravelines own and operate the Reeves Drive B&B. Is that true?
Not sure...you may be right. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing ;)
Graveline is a retired GF school teacher. I'm surprised someone around here hasn't complained his salary was too high which enabled him to have enough capital to invest in this project.
I dunno, Sparky. One minute you're in favor of growth in this city, and the next you advocate getting rid of businesses that you just don't like the site of. What's this "properly redeveloped" crap? You want to tell all the people who work at Simplot that, sorry, they have to find new jobs because Simplot doesn't fit your ideal of making Grand Forks into the Disney World of the North? - Matthew
You didn't read my post correctly and you're clearly not all that familiar with the buildings I'm talking about, Matthew. Obviously, Simplot is not going anywhere and I never said it should ("west TO Simplot"). The Transport, Inc. building has sat empty for quite some time so tearing it down wouldn't result in the loss of any small business. The Weekley family has been in the process (for quite some time) of voluntarily moving out of their building. No one is forcing the demolition of the Transport, Inc. building or the Weekley's building...the owners of these buildings are the ones who expressed their desire to redevelop the properties. You shouldn't be so quick to criticize when you aren't familiar with the situation.
The Gravelines do indeed own and operate the Reeves Dr. B&B.
We used to rent a house from them and had to go there to sign the papers. They showed us around the B&B and Bill actually talked politics with me for a while.
Nice folks!
Their 511 Reeves B&B is a beautiful house. It looks like they have done a great job restoring it.
The Herald article didn't make it clear, but I don't actually think the Gravelines are the people opening the Northside Cafe. I think they just own the building and are leasing out space. Is that correct?
The facade of the restaurant has been covered with plastic to allow for remodeling on the exterior. I hope we see a totally different looking building when they take the plastic down.
Apologies for that last comment I made (which may or may not get posted, it looks like). I do agree with you that some areas of the city are less attractive than others, it's just that I don't see why you are the end-all authority on it.
Isn't that what you do on blogs...opine? Or should we all begin every sentence with, "I think" or
"It's my opinion that..."
"Apologies for that last comment I made (which may or may not get posted, it looks like)" - Matthew
What comment did you mean? Any comment you submit is automatically posted.
That's what I thought. I suppose the internet connection conked out. That's better for both of us, I tend to go off half-cocked ;-)
SOMEONES got to start doing something about business on the north side. EVERYTHING has been migrating to the south. Granted, the north side has more crime issues....but still! Lets clean up our town.
Whoah there Bethski! Don't ever criticize the north-end like that again! Give me proof that the north end has more crime you selfish snob! I live on the north-end, and never once did I ever have to deal with crime, nor was there any cop cars around solving crime. So din't be too quick to think there lady!!!
The motel next to the Simplot should NOT be torn down. I agree with you with the fact that it is an eyesore but it's aslo used to house people! I have a friend that lives there. However, if some remodeling was done that would be very nice.
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