by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
This is one of those stories about two college buddies who sometimes sat around when they weren’t in class and talked about how great it would be to one day open a bar. That experience is probably had by literally thousands of college students each day, but this is one of those stories that led to it actually happening.
Lee Spell and Chris MacHatton signed a lease on the space at 113 E. Bay St. a month ago and construction began this week on Downtown’s newest night life venue — the Ivy Ultra Bar.
Spell, who earned a degree in communications from the University of North Florida and then went to work as a regional manager with the Outback Steakhouse franchise operation, said this new project gives him the chance to use his degree.
“This is our first bar, but we realize the key to success is giving people an excuse to come to Ivy Ultra Bar instead of anywhere else on any given night,” he said.
The location was chosen because it represents an opportunity to be a bridge of sorts between the after-hours businesses at the Landing and the club scene that has taken over East Bay Street two blocks east of Ivy where Mark’s, Dive Bar and TSI consistently draw crowds, said MacHatton.
“The whole idea is to complement what’s already here and to give people another reason to come Downtown for entertainment,” he said.
The first step was to hire an architect to do the structural design for the space. As it turned out, one of Ivy Bar’s neighbors was the man for the job. John Zona’s office is also on East Bay Street and it’s an example of turning an almost century-old space into a modern business. The entire block was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1901 and rebuilt soon after.
“Adaptive reuse of the fine historic space” is the main theme for the architectural design, said Zona. “We’re going to preserve the antique brick work and leave the heavy timbers exposed. There will be no structural changes and only minimal spatial changes in order to preserve the integrity of the space.”
Katrina Onan, decorator and owner of Award Winning Interiors, Inc., has been retained to create the ambiance and atmosphere for Ivy Ultra Bar. She agreed with Zona that the historic architecture of the space should be not only retained but accentuated by the interior design.
“I would describe the design as an industrial loft look, but not a copy of what you find in Las Vegas or Miami or New York because Jacksonville has its own flair,” said Onan, who has been designing residential and commercial interiors for clients in North Florida for seven years. “When it opens, Ivy Ultra Bar will be all new but it will look like it has been here for 100 years.”
She said the space will have two distinctive design elements, a 60-foot granite bar and a raised and tiered VIP area near the arched windows in the back of the space.
“It’s definitely designed for entertaining. It will have a fun, unpretentious feel. It’s going to be the new place to hang out in the neighborhood,” said Onan.
Spell said the grand opening of Ivy Ultra Bar is targeted for a Friday evening late in July.