Former Port restaurant to become a retail space

The former Singing Salmon building in downtown Port Washington will no longer serve as a tavern and eatery, owner Barney Bannon told city officials last week.

Bannon told the Design Review Board on Dec. 9 that he intends to rent the space as a general merchandising outlet.

Bannon unveiled a plan to revamp the front facade of the building at 219 N. Franklin St., which was installed in the late 1950s or early 1960s.

While the downtown is a historic district, the fact the facade is not original to the building, which was constructed in 1893, lends itself to this type of restoration, board members said.

Bob Harris, the city’s director of planning and development, noted that Bannon plans to improve the lower half of the building, “bringing it more in line with the surrounding buildings ... giving it more of a storefront look.”

To do that, Harris said, Bannon will remove the lannon stone facade and modern windows as well as the front door and steel siding.

The front door will be replaced with an overhead door, that Bannon said will “make it more inviting,” and a traditionally designed bulkhead will be created in the front of the building.

Period-friendly trim will replace the corrugated paneling.

“It was badly done,” Bannon said of current facade.

Board members agreed. Fire Chief Joe DeBoer said, “I don’t think you’re going to do worse to it.”

“It’s a vast improvement,” board Chairman Jeremy Hartline, an architect, said.

Bannon said he wants to get going on the project as soon as possible, noting that he will have to “tear everything off” the facade to get measurements for the new materials.

That, he noted, means the building will be boarded up for about three months.

Bannon’s plan will go to the Plan Commission for review at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 18.