Popular Railroad Square restaurant closing. The search is on for a new tenant.
Juggling an 80-hour work week, being a single mom to a son with special needs and realizing the work she was doing no longer aligned with her dreams were all factors in Justine Spells’ decision to end the run for the Railroad Square Craft House.
The popular restaurant and bar in the middle of the Railroad Square Art District has enjoyed busy and slow times as it addressed staffing, variables in hours of operation and competition.
In doing so, Spells is leaving her job as CEO and co-partner of the business, a job she was unexpectedly thrust into four years ago, to pursue other interests.
Spells, originally hired to be director of marketing for Craft House, quickly became the sole day-to-day operator after picking up the load for one of the partners who left the establishment. Also serving as a partner is Adam Kaye, co-owner of Railroad Square.
After months of in-house discussions, Kaye and Spells decided the lease would end in January, closing what had become a popular destination inside the sprawling art park off Railroad Avenue.
At the same time, it gives Kaye an opportunity to bring in a new dining business to occupy the prime location in the middle of the park.
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Kaye, the real-estate broker for the Railroad Square Art District, is excited about the different business ventures looking to take over the space.
“It’s exciting. It’s humbling, the amount of people who are really wanting to be a part of it. People who would have otherwise never considered Railroad Square as a place to move their business,” Kaye said.
Without divulging names, Kaye said those expressing an interest include “well-established businesses” looking to open a second location or looking to move their primary location. Others include newer businesses that are just getting started but have their eyes on the spot.
Kaye said he is searching for a new tenant that can exceed his expectations. He’s looking for someone who will be open longer hours, a business that can become a culinary destination that can really “hit it out of the park."
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Spells said it was simply time to make the change.
“The idea was to always find another partner and bring them in,” Spells told the Tallahassee Democrat of the revised plan for the Craft House. “Unfortunately, because of the nature of the obstacles that started coming at us it was seemingly less and less likely, and now we see it as something we couldn’t do for another two years. That’s two more years away from my son that I really wasn’t willing to give up anymore.”
Before starting this next chapter in life, Spells is making sure the rest of the Craft House team is squared away when the doors close in January.
“CareerSource will help people get trained in another industry if they want, or help them find another job between so that they’re not without a job for very long,” she said of CareerSource Capital Region.
Spells expects to lose the majority of her 30-member staff in December. Most are college students who were understanding and not very surprised by the plans, including bartender and assistant manager, Patrick Hicks.
Hicks commends Spells for making that hard decision after the struggles the restaurant faced as a whole, all while trying to keep everyone’s best interests in mind.
“COVID really hit us super hard,” Hicks said. “Ever since then it’s never been the same as it was. I remember when I first started here, I would show up to work and there would be a line out the door with people.”
Some regulars for the Craft House restaurant have some words of advice for Kaye as he decides who moves in.
Cyrus Tookes, an embroidery tech for the Campus Greek and Embroidery Shop nearby, reminisced about the lemon pepper wings he enjoyed on $5 wing nights, the deals on bottomless mimosas and seeing large crowds of people gathering for game days on the open lawn.
“I hope they put something there that’s still a restaurant,” said Tookes, standing in front of the Greek shop.
Many others’ first introductions to the Craft House were during “First Friday”, a Railroad Square tradition with entertainment, food and shopping, that attracted a majority of the restaurant’s crowd, outside of weekends, football game days and special events.
Neilyn Rodriguez, a recent psychology graduate from Florida State University, loved everything the restaurant had to offer including craft wine, craft beer, “juicy” burgers and the outdoor seating.
“It was aesthetically pleasing,” said Rodriguez, who was visiting the park. "We were here for First Friday and that was the one spot I could actually sit down and have a relaxing time and actually enjoy my meal.”
Democrat writer Kyla Sanford can be reached at ksanford@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Craft House, popular restaurant and bar in Railroad Square, to close
