The ongoing renaissance of the Southside has a new beating heart
More surely than slowly, Chattanooga is on the rise with incredible music, galleries, new and unique restaurants and businesses, and as usual, a whole host of events to fill your weeknights and weekends around the Riverfront, Coolidge Park, and Downtown.
But it’s only been in the last decade or so that the Southside has started to emerge from its chrysalis to reveal the butterfly inside. And the wings that make up Station Street are a sight to behold.
In December of 2003, The Pulse published our very first cover story, focusing on the potential we saw in the Southside and what that growth could mean for the area, as well as for Chattanooga as a whole, expanding further and further out of the ‘hub’ of downtown and creating a larger community for its residents.
At the time, it was all based on hope. Hope that the area would one day bring in new restaurants, businesses and tourists. Hope that we could breathe new life into what is such a historic part of town. With the Choo Choo at the forefront of revitalization, that glimmer of hope slowly evolved into action and action into fruition.
The now-cobblestoned street plays host to an array of businesses. From restaurants and live events to bars, breweries, and distilleries, Station Street encompasses an entire afternoon and evenings’ worth of things to do and can be entirely shut down as a pedestrian-only street.
“The potential of Station Street has barely been touched,” says Chattanooga Choo Choo president, and master behind harnessing Station Street’s potential, Adam Kinsey. “Station Street is designed to be easily closed off for concerts, street festivals and other outdoor events. We were able to work with the city, Benwood Foundation, and the other property owners on the street to make it a reality.”
But Station Street hasn’t always been the epicenter of entertainment as you all know. Long before the work on Station Street began, there was a fence between what is now Station Street and the Choo Choo, essentially a barrier between the past and the future. The alley was simply used as service entrances for deliveries rather than the walkable space it is today.
At the time, that area hadn’t really been the place to be, but was slowly on the up and up. It would be quite the risk to open a business there, and the first to take that leap of faith was Terminal Brewhouse back in 2009, now a staple of Chattanooga’s Southside.
“Southside was more of an idea of a multi-use neighborhood at the time rather than a reality, so it was a little bit of pioneering,” says owner Matt Lewis.
After opening Hair of the Dog in 2005, there were inquiries from customers as to whether or not they planned to brew their own beer at Hair of the Dog. With limited space, it wasn’t going to be possible at that location, but Matt and his business partners had the mindset that if they found the right building in the right location, they’d try to make a brewpub happen.
“We could tell the bones were good and there was a great deal of people moving here or planning to,” says Lewis. “And we thought the building was just really unique and funky so we met with Joe Sligher, the owner at the time, and told him we wanted to put a restaurant and brewpub in it. He was really excited about the idea and actually had a lot to do with the designs that went into the rebuild. It was basically our architectural handshake.”
During their first few years, Terminal watched the growth begin. Main Street began to bring on new businesses, the landscape started to change, and walking and driving traffic increased. Through the development of nearby areas like Jefferson Heights, the Southside slowly became more cohesive.
“I’ve lived in the Southside since 2005,” says Chattanooga Whiskey owner Tim Piersant. “I actually played music at Jazz Junction, where Mean Mug is now, in high school so I’ve witnessed one hundred percent of this development. We had the original anchors in the area like the Choo Choo, then Terminal Brewhouse, but it’s only been the last few years that the Southside has adapted this almost Charleston-like feel to it. It’s unique in the sense that it’s super walkable.”
That walkability has expanded the reaches of businesses and restaurants alike. The Southside has become the destination rather than the place you pass on through. Next door to Chattanooga Whiskey you’ll find the greatest hot chocolate in town at The Hot Chocolatier. Owner Wendy Buckner expressed her genuine astonishment at just how quickly the area has grown.
“When we showed up it was kind of a blank canvas. We were ending our lease elsewhere so I met with my current landlord to see this property. The building didn’t even have a roof,” says Buckner. “But he told me his vision and I thought, ‘It’s across from the Choo Choo. It’s a great location. There will be great growth.’ and after we moved in, shortly after Chattanooga Whiskey, things just took off around us.”
The inclusion of Songbirds Guitar Museum on Station Street seems like the spark that ignited the entertainment fire under Chattanooga’s already very warm seat. Ultimately ushering in two new entertainment venues—the relocation of Regan’s Place as well as a country-western style saloon—Songbirds became the perfect addition to the entertainment we’d already come to know and love on Station Street, like The Comedy Catch and Revelry Room. Songbirds has put Chattanooga on the map as more than just a city with amazing local bands, but a city that truly live and breathes music.
“We shopped around Nashville, New York, Austin, LA, places that seemed the more obvious fit,” says Songbirds’ digital media coordinator, Damien Rogers. “But we kept coming back to Chattanooga because there is something about this place that is very rock and roll. The growing Southside was really appealing and we knew a lot of other things were coming in. We noticed it was becoming the place to be and we wanted to be a part of that.”
It seems transforming Station Street and the surrounding area was on the books of even Mayor Andy Berke.
“I toured the property with Adam and John Kinsey in 2014 when I was looking to move out of our Brainerd location,” says Comedy Catch owner Michael Alfano. “Andy Berke was discussing having an entertainment district, with possibly the Choo Choo at the heart. From there the vision came together and we worked with the city on it. It’s still only halfway there, still a lot to be done, but we want to be the heart of the entertainment district. The heart of downtown.”
The addition of such different businesses and restaurants to the small staples that had started to build up the Southside created a kind of consumer-driven community. “The Southside has become a hub of what seems like an infinite stage of growth and boom,” says Stir general manager Fletcher Thompson. “And it’s created a community of businesses unlike any other. There have been countless times we’ve lent something to Frothy [Monkey] or Terminal or had to borrow something.”
“Everybody brings each other to a higher level,” says Lewis. “It happened really naturally and has situated everyone to do well because of it.”
The idea that competition breeds excellence has become very apparent when you look at the success of Station Street’s businesses. On the weekends, you’ll usually find an hour or so wait time at any of the aforementioned restaurants. In the moment of hunger, a wait can be frustrating, but looking at it in the sense that you’ve come to dine or drink at the place to be and if it’s that good, it’ll be worth waiting for.
“Our employees tend to frequent other businesses here,” says Frothy Monkey general manager Amy Warren. “We even hold our meetings at Terminal. It’s not so much a competition as a community building each other up. Frothy came into the community at the perfect time. We’ve grown with it all and we’re surrounded by like minds for a really positive purpose.”
As for the future of the area, the boom won’t be quieting down any time soon as livable space continues to pop up all over Southside, Choo Choo’s campus and Station Street itself. Above the new location of Regan’s place and our own little honky-tonk saloon will be rentable apartments as well as the renovated Choo Choo hotel suites that have become studio, one bedroom, and two bedroom apartments. No more Ubering home or worrying about leaving your car overnight because you live right in the middle of all the action.
“We’ve always known that the Choo Choo property was to spread out,” says Adam Kinsey. “Our hotel buildings were spread out so when we saw the demand for affordable, efficient, well-located apartments downtown, we thought it was worth the risk to convert ninety-eight hotel rooms.”
Passenger Flats apartments offer a range of square footages, balcony options, and quite an impressive backyard: Frothy Monkey, Stir, Terminal, Flying Squirrel, and the list goes on and on.
“Our doors are locked and secured 24/7,” says leasing manager Alethia Strickland. “Our offices are on site for any questions or issues you may have. We’ll sign for your packages so you don’t have to wait around on them, you have access to the clubhouse and pools, and you get some cool perks from local businesses.” Like the Flying Squirrel offering discounts for your food and non-alcoholic drinks during the stay of your lease at Passenger Flats.
“We’ve always wanted to be a neighborhood bar,” says co-owner Dan Rose. “It [Station Street] is becoming more bustling than we ever imagined. I certainly never thought it’d pull people’s attention like it did. We have so many regulars now that they’re building apartments literally in our backyard.”
When choosing the location for Flying Squirrel, co-owner Max Poppel expressed their desire to be a community for traveling climbers and outdoor enthusiasts. Southside seemed the better fit for their vision based on location, the surrounding area, and the perfect lot on which to build.
“It was an acre with trees on it,” says Poppel. “This perfectly tucked away, secluded feel while the neighborhood was very walkable.”
It was just a dream, a little vision, and a whole lot of hope on behalf of all the risk-taking restaurateurs and entrepreneurs that took a leap of faith in choosing the Southside and Station Street as the location for their endeavors. It was a hefty risk with a big payout that, if the current state of affairs is of any indication, will continue to grow, strive, and bring new life to the Southside.
It wasn’t an overnight job, and it surely wasn’t without struggle, but the dream is alive and thriving today. We all just know it as the place to be this weekend.