Two Fry Street buildings could soon be razed after city officials received two demolition permit requests last week.

The former locations of Mr. Chop­sticks on Hickory Street and Uncommon Ground on Oak Street are targeted for demolition, according to Rodney Patter­son, a planning supervisor for the city of Denton.

Houston-area developer United Equi­ties Inc. filed for the permits last Friday. City officials, who were reviewing the requests, were expected to issue the permits sometime this week, Patterson said.

The permits would allow the developer 180 days to demolish the buildings with the option of asking for more time, he said, and the city would be notified only after buildings were razed to set up an inspection.

The news saddened Raven Oak, an organizer and leader behind the Save Fry Street group that has touted preservation of the area both physically and culturally.

“We’re extremely sorry to see these buildings go,” she said. “If we could, we’d protect everything.”

The group, which presented petitions to council members seeking preservation of the area, had hoped to keep the integrity of the block as close to its current state as possible.

Mr. Chopsticks was built up around a former 1930s-era gas station that, in the ’60s, was known by its hippie owners as “laughing gas,” recalled Mike Cochran, former council member and local historian. Uncommon Ground opened about 10 years ago in what was originally a Howdy Doody convenience store.

Cochran said news of the pending demolitions was not unexpected.

“It’s part of the United Equities’ game plan to start demolishing some of the structures there,” he said. “We, of course, are sorry to see these buildings go, but it doesn’t affect the main purpose” to protect the historic buildings at the corner of Fry and Hickory streets.

Brian Ahn, who has owned Uncom­mon Ground coffee shop for almost five years, became the third business owner to seek and find another location after the venerable block across from the University of North Texas changed hands earlier this year.

Alter Ego, a vintage clothing shop, relocated to just north of Denton’s downtown Square on Locust Street shortly after United Equities bought the property. Mr. Chopsticks, a well-known eatery, received an eviction notice, which prompted its relocation to another restaurant off Scripture Street.

Ahn reopened his business Friday at 1401 W. Oak. St., about a block west of Fry Street.

He used the opportunity to change the concept of his business. The new Uncommon Ground Sushi Cafe has added California-style sushi items to its menu.

The new location, in a building next to Voertman’s bookstore that formerly housed a clothing shop, allowed Uncommon Ground to expand from 2,000 square feet to about 2,600, including two outdoor patios.

“We needed space to put in the new concept,” Ahn said. “I thought it was a good time to move.”

Ahn said that although United Equities had not given him an exact date to vacate his previous building, he decided recently that a pre-emptive move would cause the least disruption to his business. So he cleaned out the building at 1217 W. Oak St. and posted a sign notifying customers of the new address.

As for the unique concept, Ahn said he has received positive feedback from his customer base, consisting mostly of students. He implemented a similar menu earlier this year at his other restaurant, Avocado, on Lillian Miller Parkway, and decided to try to duplicate that success.

Though coffee and sushi might seem a strange blend, Ahn said the idea is due in part to market research and to the multicultural composition of his customer base.

“We’re living in a melting pot with a lot of students from different cultures,” he said. “I want to be in a stable situation.”

Ahn has attended the University of North Texas and plans to return to finish his graduate-level classes in the College of Education next spring.

Denton City Council member Jack Thomson, whose district includes the Fry Street area, said he still had not seen plans for the development. City officials said Tuesday that no plans had been filed as of the most recent deadline earlier this week.

Thomson said many agree the area needs “sprucing up,” but he hopes the developer will incorporate the street’s historic buildings into the project.

“I think it certainly would be to his advantage, and it would be much more a win-win for everybody,” he said.

The area is important to the city and the University of North Texas because it’s a gateway to the university, Thomson said.

“A lot of us are concerned and we’ve met with him [Buster Freedman, United Equities president], and I think he’s aware of the importance of his development,” Thomson said.

 

Staff writer Lowell Brown contributed to this report.

TODD JORGENSON can be reached at 940-566-6878. His e-mail address is tjorgenson@dentonrc.com .

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