New Metropolis location tracking for spring opening
Published 7:00 am Saturday, January 27, 2024
- Metropolis Cafe is planning to move into its new space at 111 N. Wayne St. this spring, according to owner Deepak Kumar. The building most recently housed antique store Auntie Bellum’s Attic until it moved to Hancock Street a few years ago.
For 15 years, loyal customers have enjoyed Mediterranean and Indian cuisine at Deepak Kumar’s downtown restaurant, Metropolis Cafe.
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Those dishes will move across the street in the coming months as Metropolis gets ready to change locations from the west side of North Wayne Street to the east side this spring.
“We are looking to move around mid-March to the first of April,” Kumar recently told the newspaper.
The future Metropolis space at 111 N. Wayne St. between Chandler Bros. Ace Hardware and the Masonic Lodge has been undergoing renovations since the summer. The move will allow the restaurant to expand its existing footprint of 2,500 square feet at 138 N. Wayne to 3,800, and will include a feature that has been on local diners’ wish lists for a while — a true outdoor seating option within the downtown setting. Metropolis’ new courtyard will be different from the restaurant’s current patio setup and the temporary high-top sidewalk seating some downtown eateries offer. The owner said having an outdoor option was a must when he was considering the move.
“That was the whole plan,” Kumar said. “I didn’t want to move without having outdoor space. The patio is always full here when we have good weather.”
Kumar added that the outdoor area won’t be ready immediately once the move is made, though it should be about a month or two afterward.
Overall, the change in location is expected to increase seating capacity by up to 50 between the two dining areas.
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A small building between the future Metropolis and Masonic Lodge was brought down to make way for the outdoor eating space. As demo work was underway, workers uncovered old painted murals advertising Omega Flour on the side of the future Metropolis space. Kumar said those, along with the painted signage on the building’s façade, will be preserved via clear coat seal.
As for the menu, customers can look forward to their favorite dishes being kept as well as new offerings made possible by what will be a larger kitchen.
The entire building won’t be taken up by Metropolis though. Kumar said about 1,200 square feet is being set aside as a retail space for an existing, to-be-named business.
