Boathouse Restaurant Opens in “Riverside Industrial” Building Designed by Tune Design

Excerpted from CityScope Magazine, Spring 2003

by Emma Williams

What appeared on the surface to be a simple case of remodeling and re-opening quickly became a year-long bulldozing and rebuilding project when the Haygoods realized that the existing facility simply couldn’t be cost-effectively refinished to meet their requirements. “We thought we could take the old Sandbar building, make some structural changes and be in business,” explains Lawton. “But after close consultation with Tune Design [who ultimately became the new building’s architects], we realized that plan wasn’t going to work – and it would have been just as costly as constructing a brand new building. But we also knew that our great location [on Riverside Drive beside the riverwalk] would justify the overall time and expense of a rebuild.”

Cavernous yet not overwhelming, the new structure blends function and form in a “riverside industrial” look that from the exterior, with its arched, corrugated steel roof and large glass windows, melds well with the nearby riverwalk and rowing club (one of the restaurant’s conversation pieces is actually a full-length scull given to the Haygoods by Chattanooga’s Junior Rowers and suspended impressively across the length of the ceiling).

Inside, the 6,000 square foot space blends the same functional style with a décor that wittily mixes downtown hip and playful waterside kitsch – in addition to the full-size scull, larger-than-life painted fish on giant fish hooks float from the ceiling around the bar, itself a simultaneous head-nod to the building’s corrugated exterior and an echo of beachside casual with strings of brightly colored flags hung column to column around its perimeter.

Meanwhile, the exposed aluminum pipes of the ventilation system and the brushed stainless steel rotisserie window keep company with inviting yellow walls, wooden beams, unfinished wooden benches in the waiting area and the wrought iron sconces that provide much of the illumination. To top it off, an edgy black lacquered cement floor and black bistro-style tables lend the place a decidedly downtown feel.

Heated for winter use, the outside deck provides seating for 40 (in addition to the 160 inside), and offers views of the river and the restaurant’s soon-to-open dock. “Since we’re right on the water, we felt it was important to provide boat access,” Karen explains. “That’s one of the reasons we wanted to create a relatively casual atmosphere – so that people will feel comfortable throwing on shorts and a t-shirt over their bathing suits and coming in right off the river for a drink or a meal – after all, you don’t usually go to the beach with formal dining in mind.”