Much more dining space will be added to the future Gibson Food Hall.
Gabriela Rico
Johnny Gibson's Downtown Market has closed, but plans are underway to remodel and reopen as a food hall.
"After many wonderful years, Johnny Gibson's Downtown Market has officially closed its doors," the store's Instagram post reads. "We are deeply grateful for your loyalty and support -- it has been an honor to serve this community."
The store, at 11 S. Sixth Ave., opened in 2016 in the former Beowulf Alley Theatre and was the first of its kind in the downtown area in 42 years.
It was sold to the owners of neighboring HighWire bar and restaurant in September.
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The new owners have been working with the Rio Nuevo board on their new plans, which include upgrades to the store, with dining options and expansion into the former Crescent Smoke Shop next door.
They signed a lease for the vacant building with Rio Nuevo in October and plans are undergoing review by the city, said Nick Wayne Eggman, who owns the project along with his business partner John Hardin.
The new venue, to be named Gibson Food Hall and Market, will have four vendor stalls that can be rented by local restauranteurs who want to try out a brick-and-mortar location downtown.
There will also be more indoor and outdoor dining tables.
In addition to HighWire and the future Gibson Food Hall, Eggman and Hardin own and operate The Grand, which is an event venue in the courtyard of the three properties.
Construction on the food hall is expected to begin in January with the hopes of a fall opening. There will still be a small grocery component in the project.
HighWire, which opened 10 years ago as a 785-square-foot cocktail lounge, will now have 25,000 square feet of real estate with these three projects.
The grocery store was named Johnny Gibson's Downtown Market, as a homage to the late entrepreneur who stuck with downtown through the high and low points since the late 1940s, Star archives show.
Johnny Gibson opened his barbershop in 1949 and ran it until he retired in 2001.
Contact reporter Gabriela Rico at [email protected]
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