SHELBYVILLE, Ky. — The Mulberry building in Shelbyville is almost 100 years old. Originally a post office, now it's transforming into a restaurant.
"This is just the obvious area for the kitchen," developer Torrey Smith said, gesturing out into the brick building with massive glass windows.
Though he wants to keep the space wide-open, there's one artifact he left in place— a safe with the U.S. seal, containing yet another safe, which the bar will be built around.
Smith plans on enjoying the space with his kids once it's finished, but he needs someone else who's as excited as he is about his hometown.
"I think we're just on that cusp of a movement of regional restaurant operators coming to this space, saying 'now's the time,' because we're right in the middle of the Bourbon Trail," Smith said.
Helping him along, contractor Ed Higgins is back on Smith's team.
"He coached me in little league, so he's been knowing me ever since I was a five-years-old up to now. We always had a real tight bond between me and him," he said.
Over the last three months, the Higgins crew peeled back the drop ceiling, plaster and drywall revealing the century-old brick beneath.
Though the biggest pain were the window panes. They replaced over a hundred of them.
"Just working on a piece of history in Shelbyville, in downtown Shelbyville at that, is pretty nice for me," Higgins said.
The opportunities go even deeper. Smith is considering a speakeasy bar for the basement after removing the ancient red water tank down there.
"Now you have to think creatively. Instead of building from scratch, you gotta take these buildings and find the best use for them," he explained.
With about one month of work left to go, Smith's looking forward to his next meal there, even if he doesn't know what the menu will be.
Anyone interested in buying or renting the restaurant can contact Lindsay Corgan with inquiries about the old Shelbyville post office. Her number is (714) 928-2177, and her email is lindsay@altonwebb.com.