Week 28 – #26. Mealtime

February 12, 2016 by tnwaltz 14 Comments

Recently, mealtime found me at The Terminal Brewhouse on Market Street in a section in Chattanooga, TN known as the Southside, which is undergoing gentrification.

A little history: The Terminal Station (Choo-Choo) opened in December of 1909 and created an immediate need for a nearby hotel to give comfort to the weary travelers. The very next year The Stong building was built next door and The Terminal Hotel came to life soon after. The hotel featured steam-heated rooms, fancy for that era, with meals served all hours in a café. Legend holds that through the years the Stong building was home to speakeasies during prohibition, illegal casinos and even a house of ill repute.

Sometime in the early 1940’s Chester Davis, a porter at the Terminal Station, saved his tips and purchased the Stong building becoming one of the first black business owners in Chattanooga. The building stayed in his family, housing many different businesses. It was purchased in 2006 by local raconteur Joe Sliger who immediately began restoring the property. Not long after, he found a crew interested in this historic building. This band of visionaries had, coincidentally, a vision for the wonderful old building. The walls and rafters seemed to cry out to these rugged, brilliant men. “Beer” said the walls “amazing food” said the rafters and so an idea was born.