Owners secure financing to restore Nineteenth Century Club
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Shon and Dana Lin closed Friday on a loan for a $2 million renovation of the 1907 building, which they plan to restore and turn into an upscale restaurant.
The Lakeland couple hope the French and Japanese eatery will become a destination for Memphis and beyond, promising a magnificent meal and a landmark preserved.
“This building surprised us because it’s so nice,” said Dana Lin, as she toured the three-story mansion last Thursday. “We think we can make it good.”
The venture is being overseen by Looney Ricks Kiss architects and is backed by the Bank of Bartlett, which has counted the Lins as customers since 2009. The couple own several Asian restaurants in town, and Shon Lin’s family owns a prominent Asian food distributor in Arkansas.
“When you see it, it’s going to be shiny and beautiful,” said Harold Byrd, the bank’s president. “These guys really know what they’re doing.”
The fate of the building has been a concern of preservationists for years and the subject of legal action, after the Lins disclosed plans two years ago to tear the structure down.
The columned, Colonial revival building hearkens to Union Avenue’s past as a regal thoroughfare into the city, and many similar stately homes have been demolished.
The building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, was put up for auction in 2013, after the women’s club could not afford to correct code enforcement violations.
Restoring the home, which has endured squatters, mold and a leaking roof, will be no small task. The Lins envision diners sitting in its private rooms and ascending its sweeping staircase to a second-floor bar.
“Had they walked away from this and said this cannot be saved, they’d have had lots of experts who would’ve agreed with them,” Boyd said.
Chao Lin, vice president with the bank, says the restaurant will serve the nearby medical district as a “place to be seen.” Entrées will range from $30-$40, the owners said.
“East Memphis, you have Seasons 52, Capital Grille,” said Lin, who is not related to the owners. “They don’t have a place here for people to hang out.”