By Mondell Keck | The Brookings Register
BROOKINGS — Work related to a historic preservation grant is underway at the Pheasant Restaurant & Lounge, and it’s promising to give the iconic eatery a fresh look.
“It has to be forward-facing improvements, kind of maintaining the integrity of your historic place,” Michael Johnson, who manages the restaurant along with Trevor Clements, told The Brookings Register. “We have some incorporated some aesthetic exterior work, but that also addresses just some of the things that come along with old buildings … like insulation (and) water permanence.”
PHOTO CAPTION
Funding from a grant is helping with improvements at the Pheasant Restaurant & Lounge at 726 Main Ave. S. in Brookings. (Mondell Keck/Brookings Register)
The $50,000 grant comes from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Backing Historic Small Restaurants and was awarded in August. It generated quite a bit of buzz at the time and, while it can do only so much, every little bit is appreciated by Johnson.
“We’re totally grateful to have that, and it’s going to make a big impact, but a building of that size and that age costs a lot to maintain and keep looking good,” he said.
The grant comes with a deadline, with the work required to be finished by the end of January. Johnson said they’re working with ID8 Architecture in Brookings on the project.
“I think it’ll be done well before then,” he said, adding praise for ID8. “They really do a lot with preserving historic spaces, but in a way that … they need to function for us in the way that we use them. (ID8 has) been a great partner.”
Johnson is certainly feeling a lot of responsibility regarding the project. After all, the Pheasant attained its iconic status for very good reasons: Food, service, longevity and more.
“It definitely has the public’s interest. We kind of feel like we’re stewards of something that belongs to them,” Johnson said, referring to the greater Brookings community. “So, we have to proceed with caution and be very thoughtful about everything we do.”
If that wasn’t enough incentive, then there’s the fact that the restaurant is also deeply entwined with Johnson’s family: His grandparents — Ron and Georgiana Olson — were the owners of it since 1966, and only recently passed from scene with Ron’s death in November 2019 and Georgiana’s passing in July.
They received news of the grant just before her death.
“It’s always been important to them to kind of carry on the legacy, so there’s some heart in this for us now (with) the fresh loss of her,” Johnson said.
— Contact Mondell Keck at [email protected].
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