Brick Street restaurant receiving state grant for preservation

A North Vernon restaurant will received more than $61,000 from the state for renovation of its historic structure.

Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch announced yesterday that the Brick Street restaurant was one of 10 sites around the state to receive a share of more than $728,000 through the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs Historic Renovation Grant Program. The program is designed to preserve and rehabilitate historic properties to further incentivize downtown economic development across Indiana.

Eligible properties for this grant program must be at least 50 years old and either listed on the register of Indiana historic sites and structures, be listed or eligible for listing to the National Register of Historic Places, or be listed as a contributing resource in a National Register District. Awarded properties will receive funding for the renovation and preservation of exterior features.

The North Vernon restaurant was built in the 1870s and was home of the Couchman Fur business for much of the 1900s. It is set to receive $61,693 to preserve and restore the original façade, including masonry work and to replace non-historic windows with period appropriate windows. According to the agency, the Brick Street Restaurant has preserved the historical atmosphere of the building and has become a local hometown dining establishment.