Dutch & Co.

When I bought my house in Church Hill I knew the instant that I pulled up it was where I was supposed to be. It just felt right. Lesson #1: Trust your instincts. But despite the fact that this little plot of the world had my name written all over it, there were a couple of things that I had to take with a leap of faith; several houses on the street either hadn't been touched in thirty years or were undergoing renovations and the four store fronts at 27th and Marshall {which we we affectionately referred to as "The Four Corners"} were in various states of disarray. I knew very quickly that even if nothing should ever change, this was the right decision for me........so I jumped.

I'm going to break a cardinal rule of literature now and skip to the end. If you've heard of the mind-blowing amazingness that is Dutch & Co. {which is now literally a few houses away from me}, you know score one for Team Kelly! But for now, on with the story.....

As all caretakers of older homes and buildings know it is a labour of love. That wasn't a typo, I used the word caretaker deliberately. The wood, brick, and mortar have been around longer than any of us and, god-willing, will stand long after we're gone. So what is our job? We take care of it. We give it life and purpose. We give it breath and meaning. Which brings us to The Four Corners. They weren't dead....they were just sleeping.

Over time they'd been groceries, shops, laundromats, and everything in between. After years of neglect awnings hung and glass was cracked. Bricks tumbled occasionally and the sight depressed regularly. Then one day all that changed. Someone walked by and saw that most magical, yet intangible, of concepts....potential.

Much to my delight, and ever-growing waist-line, WPA Bakery firmly ensconced itself on one corner and has been thriving ever since. My day is guaranteed to be 15% better if I have one of their muffins in the morning. It's math people I'm just reporting the findings. On the opposite side of the street our block has been completely transformed by Dutch & Co., a new restaurant that serves unique craft cocktails and delicious, impeccably-prepared food. My goal is to try every cocktail on the menu to ensure that other guests aren't drinking anything poisonous. I'm pretty selfless that way:).

It was quite an experience to watch Dutch's proprietors {Michelle, Caleb, and Phillip} transform the space and truly make it their own. As soon as you walk in you know the concept and offerings were all chosen with a care that makes this a very special restaurant. They were nice enough to let me snap some photos recently at one of their Wine Shop Saturday events. Michelle hand-picks wines for you to taste {which are also available to purchase} while the boys force feed you insanely delicious goodies, both of which make me very happy.

I hope you'll stop by Dutch and other Church Hill restaurants soon to see what a few nails, a lot of hard work, and a little magic can revive. Cheers!