Efforts to turn Valparaiso's former city hall and fire station into a restaurant continue moving forward. Boyer Properties has reached an agreement with the city's redevelopment commission to redevelop the buildings and 16 and 18 Indiana Avenue, which date back to the 1870s.
Bruce Boyer told the city council Monday that his company plans to invest more than $2 million in the property. "We are literally going to leave the four exterior walls and the front facade, demolish everything inside including the roof, and drop in a new steel skeleton and structure from above, to reconstruct the building with concrete floors, steel structure, new staircases and an elevator," Boyer explained.
Boyer has a tenant lined up. Theo's Dining Group plans to open a second location of its Avgo breakfast and lunch restaurant. The city council agreed to help with the process, by recommending the restaurant for a downtown liquor license. The program lets downtown businesses get three-way licenses at a much lower cost.
Pete Klideris with Theo's Dining Group said alcohol accounts for 10- to 12-percent of the sales at the St. John Avgo location. "It's just part of the concept that we use at Avgo," Klideris told council members. "We have a full bar at the restaurant that we use for craft cocktails, mimosas, and different beer and wine, spirits that we go through, through the restaurant."
Some council members were hesitant about giving their approval, since Boyer hadn't officially closed on the property and doesn't have a lease with Avgo in writing. In the end, they made their recommendation contingent on the closing of the sale. Still, there are a number of additional steps before the liquor license is finalized, and it's limited to that specific restaurant at that specific location.
Boyer hopes the restaurant will be able to open in April of 2026, following the planned construction work.
Meanwhile, a billboard campaign will soon be promoting downtown Valparaiso. The city council agreed to let officials spend up to $18,000 from downtown liquor license revenues.
City Administrator Bill Oeding said he's already lined up an agreement for just over $10,000 of that. "We have an agreement with Lamar to put up some billboards yet this year, and then we look to just, as money's available in that fund, we look to continue to spend on advertising," Oeding explained.
He said downtown liquor license holders pay the city $200 a month, which is set aside for downtown marketing. Those payments resumed in March, following a four-year break during the COVID pandemic. That money used to be given to Valparaiso Events to help with marketing, but now, the city has decided to handle that directly.
