Look at the major facelift on tap for a large downtown building; an update on efforts to add rooftop dining to downtown’s mix

Renderings of a new facade for the building on the southeast corner of 10th and Massachusetts streets. Courtesy: Adams Architects.

I once went to a costume party without knowing it was a costume party. The other guests spent all night trying to figure out what 1980s character I was. I wonder if the large building on the southeast corner of 10th and Massachusetts streets feels a bit like that.

The building, which for years housed the timeless Orient Cafe, has a facade that is a little hard to peg — maybe futuristic 1970s or slightly outdated 1980s. I would say that it doesn’t quite fit in with downtown Lawrence’s design, but then I’m reminded that the Egyptian-style, former Masonic Temple building is across the street. So, anything less than a pyramid doesn’t quite fit in.

Regardless, you may have noticed that construction fencing has been put up around the building. That is a sign that a major facelift is about to begin for the building as it prepares to become home to one new restaurant and tries to attract another.

“In the 1970s, the building was like a mini-mall,” said Jeff Shmalberg, who leads the local group that owns the building. “The facade still looks like that. It was that way before we bought it. We never really liked it, but we worked with what we had. We are ready to make it look like it fits a little better for downtown.”

The new design, which was created by Lawrence-based Adams Architects, won’t be a full-on historic look, but it will replace some of the stucco with brick, will add new awnings, new lighting and several other features.

Renderings of a new facade for the building on the southeast corner of 10th and Massachusetts streets. Courtesy: Adams Architects.

The Shmalberg group — it is the family that owns the Scotch Dry Cleaning business in Lawrence — is freshening up the building as it looks to find a new tenant for the building. The Army recruiting center will remain in the corner spot of the building, and so too will Laugh Out Loud, the kids zone business that has space along the 10th Street frontage.

But the spot that once was occupied by The Orient and later by Ted’s Taphouse and Oh Boy! Fried Chicken is empty. Shmalberg said the group is open to a variety of tenants but is courting restaurant users for the 3,000 square-foot space.

“It has a big kitchen and ceilings that go up 16 or 18 feet high,” Shmalberg said. “It would be great for a little brewery or any kind of restaurant.”

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As we have reported, another portion of the building does have a new restaurant tenant scheduled to open. Shmalberg said Stonewall Restaurant and Pizzeria is scheduled to open in about three weeks. It is going into space that previously housed Jerusalem Cafe and KC Smoke Burger.

We reported on the restaurant’s plans in March. Joe Kieltyka and business partner Joel Cundiff are opening the business. Kieltyka has a history in the Lawrence restaurant business. He operated a private club called the Carriage Lamp in The Malls shopping center more than 30 years ago.

People may be more familiar with Kieltyka, though, through his time in the Johnson County area where he operated the Stonewall Inn off of Pflumm Road. Back in March Kieltyka told me the Lawrence restaurant would be offering New York-style pizza, but also would have a meat-and-potatoes style of menu that would include daily specials such as fried chicken, pork chops, some seafood and other dishes that were popular at his former Lenexa restaurant.

So, keep an eye out for that.

As for the building renovation, Shmalberg said the city has already approved the building permit. Work should begin once the brick mason arrives on the job in the next few days. And, just for the heck of it, here is a piece of trivia about the building. Shmalberg says it actually dates back to the early 1900s. He’s a bit unclear on what its original use was, but he has seen a photo of what the building was used for prior to becoming a mini-mall. Guesses? A gas station. Apparently the building was configured a bit differently. It had a differently angled corner, and gas pumps were just off the intersection of 10th and Mass.

• While I was chatting with Shmalberg, I also got an update on what could be an even bigger game-changer for downtown Lawrence: rooftop dining.

I reported in November that the downtown restaurant Ramen Bowls had filed plans to install rooftop dining at its building at 125 E. 10th St. The Shmalberg group owns that building, and Jeff Shmalberg has been one of the driving forces behind the idea of rooftop dining. Currently, the concept doesn’t exist in the downtown district.

Since November, Shmalberg has been learning why it doesn’t exist in downtown. To do it in a way that meets city codes and fire regulations, it is expensive.

“We are on our third look at that as far as from a structural and architectural standpoint,” Shmalberg said. “I think we are getting a little bit closer to it being feasible.”

photo by: Nick Krug

Ramen Bowls, at 125 E. 10th St., has filed plans with the city to expand its operation to incorporate rooftop dining.

The building dates back to the early 1900s, and its roof won’t support the additional weight of rooftop dining, but its walls can carry a greater load. So the plan has been to build a steel structure above the roof and place a deck atop that new structure. Shmalberg found the steel structure, without the deck, was going to cost more than $100,000 to build. That led to architects going back to the drawing board. He said a subsequent plan has cut the costs in about half, but it is still under review.

“But we’re still working on it,” he said. “They (owners of Ramen Bowls) are still passionate about it, and I am too.”

He said City Hall officials also have been open to the idea.

“But they have been holding us to certain standards,” Shmalberg said of the city regulators. “If we do it, they know others will want to do it too. It has to be done right. It really is all a matter of arithmetic.”