RGTV--$1M renovation brings upscale English-style pub, eatery to Wealthy Street

By: Deborah Johnson Wood

Here’s betting the old Somerdyke Plumbing building, 648 Wealthy SE, has never seen a renovation like this one. The Arnold Lee family converted the space into an upscale English pub, bringing a new type of eatery and drinking establishment to the growing list of restaurants in the Wealthy Street business district.

Upstairs, two new apartments replace two outdated, vacant living spaces.

Situated east of Wealthy Street Bakery and Art of the Table, The Winchester is truly a family affair: father Arnold Lee owns the building, son Paul is the general manager, daughter Rachel navigated city zoning and Historic Preservation Commission regulations, and other relatives provided additional investment monies. Paul and his wife, Jessica, will occupy one of the apartments; Paul’s aunt and uncle, project investors, will occupy the other.

“We put in about $1 million—double what we expected,” Paul says. “We had to remove the ceiling to go up above 10 feet, and we found another ceiling four feet above that. That’s when the demolition became bigger than we could do ourselves.”

The family began demolition in 2007 and called in Bazzani Associates in 2008.

For the interior, Ben Werdon of Werdon Construction handcrafted a 28-foot oak bar with an oak bulkhead, 40 feet of built-in oak benching along the walls and the tables.

The full bar includes 30 bottled beers and 12 on tap. Two chefs will create fare with international influences.

Outside, the 1,500-square-foot patio includes a shuffleboard court.

“We got the name Winchester from an English movie, Shaun of the Dead, a parody of Dawn of the Dead,” Paul says. “In the movie, the neighborhood bar is The Winchester. We liked the idea that that’s where everybody went; even when it was the end of the world they went to The Winchester.”

Paul hopes to open the doors later this month.

Source: Paul Lee, The Winchester

Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].