The Whiskey Row Lofts on the corner of Second and Main Streets has landed its first new tenant. Sol Aztecas Grill & Cantina is expected to open in the fall of 2010 in about 3,700 square feet of the $18 million mixed-use project. The local chain will join Bearno’s Pizza already operating in the building.
Saul Garcia, head of the restaurant group making the announcement, also operates the more relaxed Los Aztecas restaurant at Sixth & Main Streets. Sol Aztecas is expected to be more a more upscale Mexican restaurant with a full bar and a patio.
Developers of the project praised the announcement as the right type of tenant: local and successful. The 100,000 square foot project has already seen some interior demolition and asbestos removal and is planned to be under construction this fall. It’s expected that at least three more retail tenants will join Bearno’s and Sol Aztecas. The project is being undertaken by Bill Weyland of City Properties Group and building owners and siblings Stephen and Julie “Valle” Jones.
This stretch of Main Street is really beginning to see quite a renaissance as the Arena next door continues to grow and work on the new Patrick O’Shea’s restaurant on the other side continues construction.
[ UPDATE 2009.07.10: We have confirmed with City Properties Group that the new Sol Aztecas will be located in the old Burwinkle-Hendershot building, the easternmost of the two (the one on the right in the rendering). ]
- Sol Aztecas Grill & Cantina (Official Site)
- Pre-Construction: Inside The Whiskey Row Lofts (Broken Sidewalk)
- Whiskey Row Development Plans Outlined (Broken Sidewalk)
- A Tour Of Construction Progress At Patrick O’Shea’s (Broken Sidewalk)
Is this restaurant going to be above Bearno's or beside it?
The new restaurant will be in the Burwinkle-Hendershot building, to the east of the Bearno's. Reports in the C-J and Biz First had conflicting data, but I confirmed the location with City Properties Group this morning.
This means we'll have a pretty solid row of restaurants here offering quite a variety of options: Bearnos's then Sol Aztecas, then Patrick O'sheas.
that's terrific. I was hoping they'd be side by side instead of Sol Aztecas on top of Bearnos. Throw those three in with Harley's, DeVino's, and Prime, and the block is coming together nicely.
This success makes me wonder if it would be better for Blue to sell off the buildings one by one and let each of them develop, vs. trying a mega-project to develop them all together.
Downtown still is in desperate need of retail. Hopefully the block will get some meaningful shops.
I am particularly interested in how Washington Street will evolve. Washington could potentially serve as a narrow pedestrian-oriented street connecting our two major sports anchors: Slugger Field and the Arena. Give the street some character and promote development that considers retail for the street rather than treating it as an alley, and you could have a real winner for big events and everyday living, too.
I really like washington st. Maybe a decade or so ago I saw some bands play in one of the wash st builidings, maybe it still exists, but it probably went the way of the mercury paw and sparks. I can’t believe no one is interested in using the old mercury paw space, that was really cool and would make a great restaurant space, something similar to Dot’s in portland, or would be perfect.