“It’s finally over.”

Rhonda Stoneburner’s words reflect her mixed emotions about the demolition scheduled to begin Monday at the heart of Denton’s most eclectic neighborhood.

A number of Fry Street area patrons and business owners are saddened by the idea of losing what they have called an icon in the collegiate community.

Some are ready for the yearlong saga to end, unable to stand the site of the now vacant buildings.

Others welcome the possibilities of new businesses bringing more customers  to the proposed Fry Street Village.

DRC/Gary Payne

The corner of Hickory and Fry streets is shown recently in Denton. The small retail area will be razed starting Monday.

Bought by United Equities Inc. last summer, much of the southwest corner in the small retail area will be razed in the coming days as the Houston developer readies the property across from the University of North Texas for a new development mirroring the architectural style of the existing buildings.

“For months now, we’ve been waiting for the other shoe to drop. After they made everybody move out, I was like, ‘Get it over with,’” said Stoneburner, a longtime hairdresser who co-owns Billy Shears with her husband directly across from the empty 1920s-era building.

The last of the businesses, including The Tomato, were gone by midnight May 14 to meet the May 15 deadline issued by the developer.

For the past five weeks, the darkened windows of the former hangouts have haunted Stoneburner. 

“It’s not something you can hold on to, touch,” she said of her feelings about Fry Street and the memories left behind. “It’s in everybody’s heart.” 

When the demolition begins, Stoneburner won’t be anywhere nearby, she said.

“Normally I take care of things on Monday, but I don’t want to be around,” she said, tearfully gazing across the street.

“It’s going to leave a big hole in the neighborhood,” she said. “But two to three years from now, no one is going to remember. It’s just sad.”

Gene Hartman might be in Minnesota fishing when the dust settles not far from the Campus Barbershop, one of the few buildings and businesses to remain intact on Fry Street.

“I hate like heck I’m going on vacation,” he said.

When Hartman returns, the view from his barbershop in the middle of Fry Street will be forever changed.

“Just because the buildings go down doesn’t necessarily mean my memories are gone,” he said.

In his years on the block, the longtime barber has seen many friends and businesses come and go.

Hartman remembers breakfasts at Jim’s Diner and his longtime kinship with Sid Bagheri, of Bagheri’s Italian restaurant, and Mike “Ski” Slusarski, former owner of The Tomato restaurant.

Hartman recalls opening his first savings account with the DATCU Credit Union years ago when it was on Fry Street.

And he won’t soon forget the long winding lines of teens waiting to go through the Delta Lodge’s haunted house each Halloween.

The 67-year-old once went through it himself a couple of decades ago on a dare.

“It was scary,” he said with a chuckle.

“There are so many memories,” said Hartman, “and to meet all the people I have through the years. … We’ve lost Ski and Sid. We’ve lost people from the area that I’m going to miss.”

Todd Kaastad, a co-founder of the Delta Lodge, an independent fraternity whose home was recently vacated at Fry and Oak streets, echoed Hartman’s sentiments.

The fraternity opted to relocate because of the changes on Fry Street and have decided to discontinue the annual Fry Street Fair, an alternative music festival.

“When people go to the Campus Barbershop, they’re not just getting a haircut, they’re visiting with their friends,” Kaastad said. “When people went to The Tomato, it wasn’t because it had the best pizza in town, it was to see their friends. You think people will ever go to a CVS [Pharmacy] for that?”

The chain drugstore is expected to be one of several national tenants to locate in Fry Street Village, which is expected to be under construction by this fall.

Despite the upcoming changes, Hartman said the future looks promising.

“I think if we give them [United Equities] a chance, they really will make a nice place for the community for people to shop,” he said.

Hartman’s view is not uncommon.

“I’m pretty indifferent about the whole thing. Change is going to happen, and having the CVS here will be a good thing, I think,” said Jessalyn Freeman, an employee at Voertman’s, a college bookstore on Hickory Street.

Tim Raiet, owner of the Pita Pit restaurant on Fry Street, said a CVS pharmacy is fine, but he hopes there isn’t a rush for more to follow.

“If this [current development plans] is it, this place will be all right,” he said. “But if it’s the first of many developments, that’s another story.”

The Fry Street saga has been life changing for Chris Flemmons, a local musician and member of Save Fry Street, a grassroots organization formed shortly after the Fry Street property purchase last summer.

“This whole thing made me look at the world around me in a whole different light,” he said. “It made me really examine the way I just exist in the world.”

Flemmons said he plans to bring a lawn chair to sit and watch as bulldozers raze the strip he has worked to save during the past year.

“As they [the public] watch this wrecking ball hit this building, I hope they will think about how they want their city to look at these older structures,” Flemmons said. “Maybe they’ll be the last old buildings that get knocked down here.”

 DAWN COBB can be reached at 940-566-6879. Her e-mail address is dcobb@dentonrc.com.

ANDREW BARGE can be reached at 940-566-6912. His e-mail address is abarge@dentonrc.com.