Published: August 29, 2008 12:24 am            

Historic advice for businesses

Two long-time businesses on Beaton Street met with an architect from the Texas Historical Commission Thursday to talk about possibilities.

The owners of Roy’s Cafe want to expand their restaurant, creating a sports bar next door called Roy’s Back Porch, while the owner of Moore’s Tire and Auto is looking for a way to make his shop reflect his pride in the town.

Wayne Bell is an expert on historical structures in addition to being a licensed architect, and his services are free to any business in the Main Street district, which is downtown Corsicana. He took pictures, talked to the owners and will provide them with computer-generated renderings of what the buildings could look like if restored.

“Our purpose is to keep the buildings as historically accurate as possible,” Bell explained.

“We’re not trying to take it back to the 1880s or even 1980s, but like the community has been prosperous in every period,” he said. “The potential is there. It’s finding owners to do it, and the funds to do it, because it’s not an inexpensive thing.”

Evonne Blackwell said they’ve been thinking about expanding Roy’s since they bought the place years ago, but now they’re ready to move forward.

“It will have a completely different menu from Roy’s during the day, and some alcohol,” she said. “Like a sports bar.”

The project will be a joint effort by Evonne Blackwell, Ricky Blackwell and daughter Richelle Perry, who manages Roy’s.

“It’s not going to be up to me or Ricky, it’s going to be the younger generation,” Evonne said, pointing to their daughter. “Richelle’s been doing a great job running Roy’s.”

Roy’s is at 306 N. Beaton, while the second building currently has 308 and 308 1/2 in it, where the boot repair shop was located until the building sold. The buildings date from the 1920s and 1930s.

Although the Blackwells had the idea of expanding for years, they’ve seen new interest in downtown.

“Because so many younger people are coming back downtown, it will be a place to come someday,” Evonne said.

Eddie Moore of Moore Tire and Auto also met with Bell to talk about the potential of his shop on the corner of Beaton and Seventh Avenue.

Moore said the aesthetics of his store has been second priority to his work for years, but he is eager to see what the architect envisions for the corner.

“We’ve gotten comfortable and complacent,” Moore admitted. “Change is coming and I’d just like to change it up a little bit, maybe an awning, paint maybe, add some landscaping, stripe the parking lot.”

Helping the decision to talk to Bell was the fact that it’s a free service.

“I’m just kind of getting some input from this guy. And seeing how it’s free, I’ll take it,” Moore said. “I like free.”

Moore said he hopes the city’s downtown efforts, from the tax breaks for downtown businesses that fix up their properties, to the new overlay, will create a resurgence of interest in the area, and that the city will market it as a destination.

“We need more neat stuff downtown,” he said. “We’ve got the steakhouse, Napoli’s, Fiesta Grill and Roy’s, that’s four big restaurants we’ve got downtown and that’s a good thing.”

—————

Janet Jacobs may be reached via e-mail at jacobs@corsicanadailysun.com

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.