Rogue Renovators

For years, passersby have just seen vacant gas stations. But a couple of new business owners have seen opportunity.

They follow a path trudged previously on neighborhood corners across town, relics of the past converted into a law office at Kimbrough Avenue and Elm Street, or a paint shop at Grant Avenue and Division Street. For years, a television repair shop occupied an old gas station at Campbell Avenue and Grand Street before closing with the owner’s death earlier this year.  

Ryan Mulcahy, co-owner of Rogue Barber Co. LLC, which has operated out of downtown’s Moda Salon since January 2013, said it’s all about potential for the nearly 80-year-old former service station he and his wife are renovating at 639 W. Walnut St.

“We just fell in love with the place. It has character for days,” Mulcahy said.

The “rogue” barber is applying his artistic flare in hair designs to sculpt a barbershop out of an old-school fueling station, which will include a connection to its past with a drive-thru arched awning and a hose that signals a vehicle’s arrival.

“When you pull through the overpass, you know that little ding-ding – that’s still there,” Mulcahy said, noting he’ll position a gas pump outside and some old-school signs procured in recent weeks.

“We’re just going to update it. We’re going to bring the vintage feel back to it and keep that classic look.”

Two miles away at the northeast corner of National Avenue and Central Street, a tiny, old gas station and shoe-repair building also is poised for new life.

Stephanie Ireland of Ireland Architects Inc. is designing a 1920s–30s-style soda fountain and coffee shop for Refuel Coffee and Soda owners Amberly Larkins and Chris Valez.

While designs are still in flux for Larkins and out-of-town, silent partner Valez, Ireland said the business partners intend to maintain the building’s character.

“They’re trying to keep some of the nostalgia and planning to give customers service like they did back in the day,” Ireland said. “This is their first one. They are learning as they go.”

Larkins – a 2009 Evangel graduate who has worked in antiques and as a jewelry and estate acquisitions broker for several years – plans to offer ice cream and sandwiches on the menu, but Ireland said some design and equipment details have yet to be settled. One piece that will be in place is an original Liquid Carbonic soda fountain bar, which Larkins currently is having restored.

In July, Springfield City Council rezoned the property to allow a drive-thru and outdoor seating, and it reduced the size of the perimeter landscaping requirements. “It’s just a very small lot,” Ireland said. “It is really difficult to do much on that.”

She said the building hasn’t been updated in three decades and comprises only 80 square feet. When the project is complete by spring, it should total around 950 square feet. And, like the Mulcahys’ project, it will feature an outdoor patio.

The Rogue partners are targeting a year-end opening for the barbershop.

Mulcahy said the future barbershop has 900 square feet of usable workspace, but the patio out back will give customers more room. “It’ll be a little covered patio so clients and customers can enjoy beer outside and take it all in,” Mulcahy said, noting Dacy Mulcahy will run D’s Wax Factory from a separate, east-side entrance.

Ryan Mulcahy declined to disclose renovation costs, but his list of expenses has been climbing the past six months.

“We had to put a new roof on. We’ve put a new concrete floor in, new HVAC, new electrical, new plumbing,” Mulcahy said. “It’s been a lot.”

According to permits on file with the city, estimated renovation costs sit at about $4,000.

The corner lot sits on a third of an acre directly across Grant Avenue from Mother’s Brewing Co. Mulcahy and his wife bought the property from brewery owner Jeff Schrag for an undisclosed amount earlier this year. According to Greene County assessor’s records, the property’s 2014 taxable appraised value is $128,500.

Mulcahy said Mother’s Brewing now supplies the spent hops for Rogue Barber’s soaps.

A former bartender, Mulcahy decided to go to barber school after he visited his brother-in-law’s barbershop in Rogers, Ark.

“He had a certain swag about him,” he said. “I began to research what was the latest in the industry in New York, L.A., London – as to what was ‘it’ in the prime hubs – and I kind of fell in love with the whole idea.”

With a background in marketing and advertising for a local home health agency, Mulcahy said opening a new shop in his own space gives him room to forward his own marketing initiatives.

“I’ve never done anything like this before. I just wanted to do something that was challenging and something that had an artistic appeal to it,” Mulcahy said.

The challenge remains for some former fueling stations.

At Kimbrough and Elm, the former offices of Roger C. Jones Attorney at Law patiently await the call of future business. A sign on the door states Jones moved to 601 S. Grant Ave.

Nearby at the Grand and Campbell intersection sits a 0.15-acre lot owned by the estate of Carl Warren. Warren, now deceased, long ago converted the former gas station into a television repair shop. Toni Henry of Carol Jones Realtors now lists the 946 S. Campbell Ave. property for $79,900. When first listed on April 30, the property was selling for $85,000.

Just north of Grant Beach Park, a corner lot owned by Majik Painting and Wallcovering is for sale by owner Mark Jones for $35,000. For years, he fought for a rezoning by the city before giving up and buying a lot across the street. Like the old neighborhood gas stations, Jones has moved on. He now does business outside of city limits.

“I pretty much put it up for sale after I jumped through all the hoops I needed to jump through,” Jones said.

Time will tell if throwback barbershops and soda fountains have a brighter future.