Former Sputnik Bar in Columbus to become a restaurant in creation of Midcity District
The former Sputnik Bar will soon be transformed into a taqueria restaurant as an extension of the Midcity District outside of Midcity Yards.
The Cotton Companies, the real estate developers behind Midcity Yards, continues its practice of reusing old Columbus buildings to create new developments. Residents can expect the historic building to remain much like it is currently, said Cotton Companies partner Martin Huff.
“It’s got its outer shell that we’re going to keep,” Huff said. “And then we’ll be bringing a patio and a parking lot.”
Huff and the Cotton Companies President Chris Woodruff are planning to turn the building into a cantina and taqueria. The real estate developers have been working with an operator out of Atlanta, Huff said, adding that the specialized business is something that Columbus needs.
“It’s something that’s truly focused on the taco, the food, the frozen drinks and the good time,” Huff said.
More information about the tenant and the restaurant will be released within the next couple of weeks, Woodruff said. However, Woodruff did tell the Ledger-Enquirer that the Columbus restaurant will be the owner’s second location and would feature a full bar, frozen drinks and be family-friendly.
Construction has already begun on the site.
‘Bigger Midcity picture’
The Sputnik building was built in the early 1950s, Woodruff said, and started out as Andrew’s Grocery before morphing into a dive bar. In the past, millworkers would frequent Sputnik, Woodruff said, which was called a dive bar for a long time.
“But you can’t talk about Sputnik now without discussing the bigger Midcity picture,” he said. “This creation that the Cotton Companies has started to build an area of town back up from basically nothing.”
Creating another use for the Sputnik building will help revitalize the area, along with the Midcity Yards development.
Midcity Yards’ first phase opened last year with Fetch Park, which was joined by Moe’s Original BBQ earlier this year. When Woodruff and Huff began developing Midcity Yards, there was already a plan to do further development in the area to create a Midcity District.
“Midcity wasn’t just Fetch Park,” Woodruff said. “It wasn’t just Moe’s. It’s always been an ideology — a bigger picture. So, in order to cast our vision and ensure that it comes to fruition, we’ve had to put these key pieces in.”
One of those pieces was bringing Atlanta-based Scofflaw Brewery, which is one of the top 50 craft brewing companies according to the Brewers Association, to Midcity Yards. The planned further development of the area, including the Sputnik project and others, were part of the location’s appeal, Scofflaw CEO JP Watts told the Ledger-Enquirer.
“Talking to Martin and Chris about their vision of this whole area and seeing what they’ve been able to accomplish — you know they’re going to do it,” Watts said. “Why would you not want to be a part of it?”
Planned further development
Along with reusing Sputnik, the Cotton Companies purchased the former church directly across the street from the old dive bar as well.
“The church is a wonderful historic landmark in Columbus,” Huff said. “Our goal is to preserve it and turn it into some sort of event space.”
Currently, the developers are still looking for the right operator for the space, he said, but they’re excited that the space will complement the other development being done in the area.
Additionally, the Cotton Companies is planning to add multi-family housing as part of the long-term plans for the district. Adding another 100-200 units of housing in the area is the next best step to ensuring the Midcity District stays vibrant, Woodruff said.
“We wanted to do something that’s going to help complement Uptown and Midtown and be that interconnected piece,” he said. “So, Midcity is going to do that. And the best way we can imagine to do that is retail, office and more multi-family (housing).”
When the Cotton Companies started Midcity yards, Huff said, their intention was to plant their flag on the project and to do the best they can to get the district up and going.
“But what it really does is help spur other people — local or out of town developers — to come in and say, ‘Hey, something’s going on over here, something cool, something unique,” Huff said. “And that’s kind of the magic of how you grow an area the right way.”
This story was originally published November 16, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
