The old Meaford Fire Hall is undergoing a major renovation which will bring several new restaurants.
Owner of the fire hall Lino Toncic says this restoration project, which has been in the works for 10 years, aims to return as much of the old fire hall as possible to its original state, while including new accessibility measures.
“Once we strip back years of people just adding stuff of top of the original structure to the original brick, we are going to try and make it look like as close as possible as it used to,” says Toncic.
He says as part of the redevelopment, they brought on a third party to run the building and bring in a number of new restaurants. The new restaurants will be spread out in the building, with one being a rooftop patio, a hot table which will serve take out meals, a two-storey restaurant, a lounge-type restaurant, and a small rentable space for gatherings or events.
They plan to also restore some of the bricks in the basement to allow for a wine cellar.
“We are trying to appeal to as many people as possible, and then hopefully it is going to draw in the tourists for the businesses in the area as well,” says Toncic.
Additionally, Toncic says the redevelopment will also include items from the old fire hall and from around Meaford for display.
“I have personally purchased or found a number of different articles,” says Toncic. “I have found photos, I have found stuff from the 1950s and 1960s, found a couple of old hammers and wrenches and stuff.”
Toncic, who also owns a number of the buildings in Meaford, says this was always the plan to redevelop the old fire hall.
“My view is to create not just a tourist spot, but bring back all the history and have the local people as well be able to be proud of something that is going on in the area. We were never going to do anything but restore this building,” says Toncic.
He says they are aiming to open this summer.
