Local restaurant the Trojan Horse lives in a historic building from the 1850s, and right now, it's being renovated.
The goal of the renovation is to make the building sturdier and improve its outer appearance, restaurant owner Michael Shelley said.
The renovations began in September 2018, Shelley said. He said he expects it will be finished in the spring.
Shelley said the project is close to done at this point. Old bricks have been replaced with sturdier ones on the inside of the building, and improvements have been made in the siding and woodwork outside.
Co-manager Matthew Young said efforts are in place to keep the 41-year-old restaurant true to its original form.
“We want to keep the place looking how people have always remembered it,” Young said.
Junior Ashwin Joseph said he knew about the project because he saw scaffolding and sidewalk covers earlier in the winter. He comes in for gyros around every other week, he said.
“I haven't really looked for the new changes, but overall it has the same look as before,” Joseph said.
Young said the scaffolding and sidewalk covers affected business for awhile.
“When there was heavy construction, a lot of the locals would look in and see that we were opened — but some of the out-of-town visitors would keep walking,” he said.
Although scaffolding and sidewalk covers are no longer in place, the restaurant is missing its sign. The sign is off display for cleaning.
Shelley said he isn't worried — he's just happy the worst is over. He said he thinks it will be worth it.
“We’ve been here over 40 years, and we want to be here 40 more,” he said. "We're dedicated to this, and we're excited."
