Building renovations planned
No prospective tenants until the work is complete
Two Main Street buildings that now are home to one business in a portion of the one building could end up having four or five businesses.
Both 160 and 162 N. Main Street are owned by Joe Chiaro, general manager and co-owner of Caruso Brick Oven Trattoria, which is also on Main Street.
Modern Male barbershop is in part of the building at 162 N. Main St.
A planned renovation project, for which permits have already been received and the final steps are being completed for carpentry to begin, is designed to prepare space for a second business at 162 N. Main, along with doing more extensive work at 160 N. Main, Chiaro said.
“It’s going to be two small stores on the front,” Chiaro said of 160 N. Main, “and then it’s going to be a bigger store on the back with the back yard.”
That’s the current plan, he
said, although if one tenant needed the entire space, that could also be arranged.
The building will be designed to be used as stores, not office space, he said.
“We’re looking for somebody who keeps the door open at night,” Chiaro said.
No prospective tenants have been lined up yet for the building, he said.
“We’ll fix the building first and try to find the right people,” he said.
Finding the right tenant is the most important part, he said.
It took more than a year of discussion before Modern Male opened the Souderton shop in 2017, but that’s an example of having the right people and business for the location, Chiaro said.
“He’s bringing a lot of new people into town,” Chiaro said.
Along with the work on the two buildings, spaces will be added to the parking lot next to 160 N. Main, expanding it to have room for at least 40 cars, he said.
This isn’t the first Souderton building renovation project Chiaro’s been involved in. Previous endeavors include the building in which Caruso’s is located and the one in which Downtown Scoop ice cream shop is located.
The buildings at 160 and 162 N. Main St. have an added attraction, he said.
“The nice thing about these two buildings is they both have back yards,” he said.
The yard area could be used for things such as outside seating in the summer, a playground or barbecues, he said.
“It’s always nice in the middle of town to have a little green spot,” Chiaro said.