New owners Jeff Carver and Roger Crane are transforming the former Lido Gardens restaurant into commercial and residential units.

Hub Staff

Work has begun on the former Lido Gardens restaurant, 662 Goderich Street in downtown Port Elgin, which will receive a major facelift over the coming months transforming into commercial units on the lower level and upper level residential units.

Jeff Carver and Roger Crane, who took over the property September 5, are no strangers to renovations in Port Elgin having previously transformed other buildings such as the former Jangles Restaurant, at the corner of Gustavus and Goderich Street, into commercial units and the former JK Motel, located on Waterloo Street, into affordable condo units.

Carver, owner of the Wismer House in Port Elgin said that the once large restaurant will become three separate commercial properties. “We want to really gear it to individual shops,” he said. “We've got a bit of work ahead but exciting at the same time.”

Carver said that they are looking to have the first unit ready for early 2019 with all three ready to go for the spring. “Then we'll turn our attention to the upstairs after that,” he said. “We're thinking three higher end, loft style apartments with your exposed brick and roof top patio and juliette style balconies off the front," explained Carver.

While the JK Motel renovation was geared toward affordable housing, Carver said he and Roger both feel strongly that in any downtown you have to have a mix of people. "You can't have everything all high end, you can't have all low end either, I think the way to do it is to have a mixture of different types of housing," he said.

Carver said that the iconic red brick on the lower exterior of the building will be removed and replaced with wood and new large windows. The metal on the upper half of the building will also be removed, exposing the original brickwork. “So combining the brick with the wood," he said, adding that given the interest thus far he wouldn't be surprised if they have all the spaces filled prior to finishing the work.

Bicyclette Rouge Children's Boutique owner Amy Shute will be one such tenant. “I am very excited for a new season of Bicyclette Rouge and it will be fantastic to start with a fresh new look,” she said. “It's accessible so that's going to be really nice for the business. We're really excited for the changes to come," she said.

Carver said that they are very interested in the history of the building and want to learn as much as they can. “We'd love to get any old pictures and stories that people have of this old building,” he said, adding that they believe the building dated back to the mid to late 1800s. “Originally, we know it was two separate buildings but we have also discovered, down the middle is a double brick wall so we think that initially it may have even been three separate buildings," he said.

One of the more interesting features they have discovered is an old, still functional bathroom in a section of the low, unfinished basement. The door to the bathroom is unable to be opened very far due to ductwork on the basement ceiling. “Judging by the look of the toilet in there, with the cast iron spout on it, the shape of the tank and the fact that it's separate from the actual bowl, I can only assume it's probably from the '50s or '60s,” said Carver.

Small wood panel rooms in various locations of the basement have also been uncovered, which Carver and Crane found unusual. “You never know what you're going to stumble across,” said Carver.

In an email to the Hub, long time local Peter Little said he remembered the former Chinese restaurant in the '60s, '70s and '80s as a very busy place. “I remember the Lido when Joe, Elmer, and Jimmy Chau operated it,” said Little. “The local business community met there daily for morning and afternoon coffee and discussed all sorts of issues,” he said.

“The booths and tables were always full with family gatherings, hungry teens and the after-hours bar crowd. It was the spot to go after high school dances, dances on the beach or any other event in the community," said Little. "Being one of the few restaurants in town, it was a hub," he said.

Anyone with information about the building's history or photos to share is asked to contact Jeff Carver at ojcarver@gmail.com.

Work has already begun on the building with the first commercial unit scheduled for completion in early 2019.

Work is already underway, transforming the former Chinese restaurant into commercial units.

New large windows will be installed at the front of the building that when complete will see three commercial units on the street level and three loft style apartments on the upper level.

The new owners are contacting the Ontario Chinese Restaurant And Food Service Association in Toronto to see if there is any interest in a beautiful hand crafted mural that was on one of the walls of the former Lido Gardens.

There is a full service kitchen in the former restaurant which could remain, providing an opportunity for a business or moved.

The building at one time was the Port Elgin Grill, owned by the Ing family. The photo is believed to be from the late 1940s or '50s.