Construction continues on Lexington Public House, a new Southern-style restaurant and pub planned for downtown Lexington.
The transformation of the former Lexington Antique Mall into a Southern-style restaurant called the Lexington Public House is underway at 102 E. Main St.
The building has already received a new roof and plumbing. The next step for owner Ben Pitts is securing the necessary permits and applications.
He said he hopes to complete construction in six months.
“That’s pretty ambitious, but at least to have it done to where I could hire and train and do a soft opening and then open,” he said. “It’s hard to put a timeline on it, though.”
The building is split into two sections. The smaller side will be a pub and the larger side will be filled with more seating, and possibly a stage.
“It could be like an event space, so people, if they had parties or a reception or anything like that, could rent it out,” Pitts said. “I have a goal of trying to do a farmer’s market type thing on that side.”
The smaller section of the restaurant, once a post office, features an old safe that Pitts plans to repurpose for storage, preserving some of the building’s history. He also intends to try and keep the exterior as close to original as possible.
Pitts hopes the restaurant will be a place for the community to come to watch sporting events and spend time together.
“People have a lot of different thoughts and ideas, and they live in this little town, and there’s just nowhere for them to hang out,” Pitts said. “So I thought it’d be a good place.”
Pitts said burgers, wings and salads will make up a part of the menu.
“So, as soon as we get the thumbs-up, I think it’s going to move pretty fast,” he said.
For new business owners like Pitts, construction is only one piece of the puzzle. A lot of paperwork must be approved before opening, which can be confusing and time-consuming for newcomers.
“The restaurant business, it’s a very complex business because it’s not just the business,” said Claudia Reit, a member of the Oglethorpe County Chamber of Commerce. “You have multiple departments involved.”
Reit said she hopes the business industry, including restaurants, will continue to grow as the county grows. She also sees potential in food trucks, which are easier to permit.
“I always said that’s the future (food trucks), because it’s easy, it’s popular, especially with the younger generation,” Reit said. “They're more diverse, and they are more spread out. They like to travel more.”
New businesses will also bring in additional revenue for the county.
“It’s always more businesses is more money for the county, and more money for the county — that means more investments, more infrastructure, more parks, more roads, more giving back to the community with the revenue that we make out of the new businesses,” Reit said.
Reit emphasized the importance of attracting a balanced mix of businesses to the county and believes projects like Lexington Public House will positively impact locals.
“We’re working just to make more incentives and make Oglethorpe more attractive for the businesses, because we’re going to grow, we’re going to grow — Oglethorpe is going to grow,” Reit said. “We want it or not, but if it’s going to grow, at least we can keep our locals there.”