Week 28 – #26. Mealtime

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.

Week 19 – #37. Part Of A Whole

I did a double take when I drove down the street and saw part of a 1954 Spartan Manor trailer. It was “part of a whole” because the rest of it was inside a building which housed a restaurant. The entire Spartan Manor served as the kitchen for the restaurant. I was intriqued and, although the restaurant was not open, I spotted the owner outside and asked if I could come in to see the rest of the Spartan Manor. He said when he bought it, the furniture was still inside and he totally gutted it and put in an entire stainless kitchen for the restaurant. What a terrific idea! I did a bit of research on the Spartan Manor and learned how famed oil tycoon, J. Paul Getty, turned an aircraft company into a luxury trailer manufacturing enterprise. Manufactured to the highest quality and sleekest design employing the monocoque building technique used in airplane manufacturing, they were truly the “Cadillac” of trailers.

36. Light (Week 43)

One of my favorite places to go is Mar Vista Restaurant on the North end of Longboat Key. I find it so peaceful sitting underneath the twisted tree limbs strung with lights and feeling the gentle breeze from the Bay.