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Raising Cane’s and Playa Bowls announced as restaurant tenants for the historic building renovation in uptown Athens

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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — The company renovating a historic building in uptown Athens announced the two restaurants that will occupy the ground floor. One is Raising Cane’s, a national chain with a menu built around chicken fingers, and the other is Playa Bowls, which sells fruit bowls and smoothies.

A pedestrian access on West Union Street next to The Lostro building that is now undergoing major renovation.
The first week of January, the city added a pedestrian walkway next to The Lostro project so that pedestrians could more easily access the businesses on this side of the street. This followed months of complaints by one business owner. [David Forster | WOUB]
Raising Cane’s already has 50 locations in Ohio. The closest one to Athens is in Lancaster. The Playa Bowls shop will be the sixth location owned by two Ohio franchisees whose other shops are in the Columbus area.

The upper two floors will be an extended stay hotel, featuring 20 rooms with full kitchens. Indus Hotels, the Columbus company that owns the building, said its initial plan is to rent rooms on a long-term basis during the school year and on a shorter term during the summer months.

Indus is still looking for a commercial tenant for the basement.

Extensive renovations of the building, located directly across from the main entrance to Ohio University, began last year and are expected to be completed by the fall.

The building has sat vacant for several years after its most recent occupant, a college bookstore, closed its doors. It was originally built as a car dealership by John Lostro in 1915. Indus has named the building The Lostro in his honor.

The building was designed by Frank Packard, a prolific Ohio architect who also designed several buildings at Ohio University, The Ohio State University and Miami University.

Indus secured federal and state historic tax credits along with other financial incentives to help pay for the renovations, which are expected to top $11 million. This included removing lead and asbestos contamination, upgrading the wiring and plumbing, and adding a new elevator.

Plans for the building raised concerns about parking, a perennial issue in the uptown business district. The city code doesn’t require designated parking for hotels and other uptown businesses, but it does for residences.

Indus said it will arrange for parking for those who need it, for both short-term and long-term stays.