A Putnam County restaurant, coffee shop and bookstore plans to expand to Charleston's West Side next year. Hurricane's Books and Brews plans to add a second location at 222 West Washington Street in the Spring of 2018, business owner and manager Pat Pelley said.
Pelley opened the Hurricane business at 2759 Main Street in November 2015.
Pelley said property owner and developer Tighe Bullock approached him a year and a half ago about the possibility of opening a second location in the Elk City area of the West Side. That discussion was put on hold for a while after the birth of Pelley's twins, he said.
Bullock said he was impressed with Pelley's work ethic and the restaurant.
The Charleston location will be a replication of the one in Hurricane, which serves pizza, sandwiches, craft beer, wine, coffee and tea. Pelley said used books are only a small portion of his business.
Books and Brews will take a portion of the space at the former Dollar General store on the West Side. Bullock said he's working on restoring the original facade on the century-old building in an effort to get the building back on the National Register of Historic Places. The building had been on the register, but was taken off because it was changed too much from its original state, he said.
Bullock plans to divide the building into storefronts. Before it opens, Bullock said he plans to install an industrial kitchen and a walk-in refrigerator. He'll also restore the building's tin ceiling and buff the concrete floors. Bullock said he plans to apply for a permit to offer outside dining.
Pelley, a father of four young children, credited his wife for supporting the decision to expand, which is something he'd always wanted to do, he said. Pelley said he is excited and nervous about the second location.
"Ultimately our success is going to be based on the community and how they take us in as a restaurant, bookstore and coffee shop," Pelley said.