Restoration ahead for historic building
Spaghetti Warehouse, a downtown mainstay serving Italian food and ghost lore, shuttered last year after its bayou-adjacent building flooded during Hurricane Harvey.
The restaurant operators auctioned what was salvageable from inside the building, and the property owner listed the two-story structure for sale.
Now, the historic building at 901 Commerce has a new owner that wants to restore the space, according to JLL, the brokerage firm that handled the sale.
The buyer, 901 Commerce LLC, is backed by a local development group. A deed recorded in Harris County shows the owner has a Midtown address but does not include a name.
“We have always loved this building and jumped at the chance to acquire it,” an unidentified spokesperson for the new ownership group said in a statement. “We plan on working closely with the city of Houston and other stakeholders in the area to execute our vision. Our
challenge will be to complete a historic renovation to a building that has a history of flooding.”
Over the decades, numerous floods have inundated the 15,000-square-foot building. It was developed around 1912 alongside Buffalo Bayou between Main and Travis. The building is in an area now designated as national and city historic districts.
It was developed by B.A. Riesner, who was in the iron and steel business, and originally leased to the Desel-Boettcher Produce Co.
“The building is important because Commerce used to be lined with warehouses … because that was the first street that came up from the port when the port was at Allen’s Landing,” said Jim Parsons, programs director for Preservation Houston.
“The street used to be really busy because people would come and buy straight from the warehouses. It wasn’t just produce, but meat, rice, animal hide. Anything that came from the port.”
After Harvey, the Dallasbased Spaghetti Warehouse chain said it wasn’t planning to leave Houston but didn’t know if it could stay in its longtime home.
The restaurant opened in 1973 and later earned a reputation for being haunted.
The design was American Italian: checkered tablecloths, stained glass chandeliers and a replica trolley car where customers could dine.
Stakeholders hope new businesses will help activate the area.
Anne Olson, executive director of the Buffalo Bayou Partnership, which has its offices in the former Sunset Coffee Building next to the old Spaghetti Warehouse, said the area has felt a bit isolated from nearby Market Square.
“The more we have, the better it will be,” she said.
Downtown's historic Raphael and Dorrance buildings on Main Street at Commerce were recently renovated to house offices, art and retail space.
The project, called Main&Co, incorporates the buildings’ original exposed brick walls and ceiling beams and restored hardwood floors.
AIA Houston plans to move into its new home across the street from the old Spaghetti Warehouse next year. The architecture group was preparing to move in to its newly renovated space just before Harvey hit.
“We like being in that neighborhood,” said Rusty Bienvenue, executive director of AIA Houston. “We see it as a walkable neighborhood, the birthplace of Houston. We like the whole produce row story.”
The seller of 901 Commerce, an affiliate of a real estate investment trust, was represented by JLL's Donna Kolius, Pierce Owens and Kaylie Walker, along with Michael Hassler and Todd Casper of CBRE.