NEW ALBANY, IN. (WDRB) -- Ian Hall has been successfully running his New Albany Exchange Pub and Kitchen restaurant on Grant Line Road for several years.
He says business is good. "It has been growing and growing."
But Hall is planning to close his current restaurant in a strip shopping center near I-265 so he can move into an historic building in downtown New Albany in a few months.
The 137-year-old building has a lot of history. It has housed horses as a stable and was once a tire warehouse.
But even though it is now an active construction site and a lot of work remains, he sees the potential. "You cannot replace duplicate these buildings and I am happy to bring new life to one of them," he says.
Hall joins a number of other restaurants that have moved into downtown New Albany during the past several years.
Economic development leaders say the trend began when the YMCA opened in 2008.
"The Y, when it came downtown, solidified and gave people a feeling there are reasons to come downtown and see things going on here," says David Duggins, the Economic Development Director for New Albany.
Hall believes there is plenty of business for all of the new restaurants to share and is happy to be part of the revival downtown. "I grew up here, I like seeing this part of town come back to life," he says.
He hopes to be in his new location by mid to late November.
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