The Syndicate - Revival Design Collective
syndicate bellefontaine, downtown bellefontaine, Jackson’s news stand, beer garden, history
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how a location’s history

will guide your design.

The Syndicate was built on the grounds of the old Jackson’s News Stand full of rich history and beautiful, thought-out design. 

ARCHITECTURE & INTERIOR DESIGN

The Syndicate top image

INTRODUCTION

 

8,000 SF

 

date

2019

 

team

Cally Lange
Julie Werling
Stephanie Leistenschneider

The Syndicate | Bellefontaine, Ohio

 

Located in the heart of Downtown Bellefontaine, Ohio, stands The Syndicate. With its flexible, multi-use spaces and big-city-inspired atmosphere, it is perfect for going to eat a fantastic meal, celebrate with friends, enjoy an outdoor concert, or rent for private celebrations and events. With soaring, exposed ceilings, and historically inspired designs, this space will have you feeling like you’re at the center of something exciting… and you will be right about that. 

 

THE SYNDICATE WEBSITE

OBJECTIVES

Sometimes, when you begin a project, you realize the location’s history will guide your design where it was always meant to go. This was the case when we began designing The Syndicate restaurant in Bellefontaine, Ohio. The original plan for this building was to create a flexible events space with an indoor bar and outdoor beer garden. Through many pivots, we took setbacks and turned them into set-ups for success, and changed the design of the space to become a fine dining restaurant.

syndicate exterior newsstand

APPROACH

historical approach

 

Constructed on the site of the old Jackson’s News Stand, The Syndicate was built. Although the structure was demolished long ago, our clients wanted to pay homage to the history of the site as a place that was much more than a newsstand. It was a Logan County institution where members of the community would gather to shop and socialize.

dining area

gathering the facts

 

The beginning of this project began much like others, by asking a ton of questions. Some were more focused on functionality — How many guests would you like to accommodate? What are your kitchen and bar equipment needs? How flexible does the space need to be for different types of events? While others were more focused on style — What’s your story? How do you want guests to feel while dining? What type of image do you want to portray? What’s going to be on the menu?

 

Researching the history of the site would be crucial to the way our designers transformed ideas into reality. They spent time gathering information from libraries, historical societies, and most importantly, local people. 

syndicate historic glass

RATIONALE

implementing history

 

It was clear to everyone involved that the entire brand needed to be thoughtfully structured around the newsstand theme. The bar is encompassed by a replica iron newsstand with Luxfer prism glass, salvaged from another downtown Bellefontaine building. A vintage-lit “Jackson’s News Stand” sign was incorporated into the back patio design. Museum-quality, original newspaper articles are artfully framed and displayed throughout the restaurant. Custom signage reading “Extra, Extra!” and “The Front Page” add fun to the space and remind guests of the history of the site.

 

The wall adjacent to the host stand is entirely covered with a custom wallpaper featuring historical news articles originally printed in the Bellefontaine Examiner (the local newspaper). We worked with the owner and the Logan County History Museum to gather as many news articles and advertisements as possible and then selected ones that were either historically significant or visually interesting. We partnered with a local design and print shop to carefully scan each delicate piece, artfully arranged them, and print and install the custom wallpaper.

the syndicate bathroom

beauty meets functionality

 

Our architecture and design teams collaborated to design a space that is equally beautiful as it is functional. At The Syndicate, our designers knew that minimizing noise was a top priority for the owner. Early on, we brought in an acoustics consultant to run calculations and help us find a thoughtful sound-dampening solution that was within the project budget. Landing on a decision of three-dimensional acoustical ceiling tiles, applied to the underside of the structure in the dining room, the noise would be absorbed and echos reduced. Not only do they look great, but the moment those panels went up during construction, everyone on the site noticed a significant improvement in the sound quality within the space.

 

With durability and cleanability at the forefront of our minds, we sought frequent input from the team at The Syndicate, contractors, vendors, and developers in regard to cleaning products that were going to be used in the space. This was impactful in deciding on finishes and furniture, depending on the desired longevity and comfort level in maintaining and repairing custom features.

syndicate ceiling baffles

an outdoor space of their own

 

The back patio of The Syndicate, dubbed “Off the Record”, is a laid-back, welcoming outdoor area. The owners wanted it to feel like you were hanging out in your best friend’s backyard while enjoying a delicious beverage and listening to good music. This beer garden includes space for overflow dining, food trucks, loud music, private events, and grilling & smoking meats.

 

Our designers went for materials that weren’t precious and would age well — natural wood fencing, colored concrete with a stone paver stamp, and ribbed metal siding. They added touches of vintage and natural elements to create the soul of the space — large, reclaimed lit signs (one of which hung on the building on the same lot decades before), grand potted plants, and a boxwood wall. Incorporating pops of color added to the personality and brand reinforcement, with brightly colored Adirondack chairs and cornhole boards, placed under rows of cafe lights and shade sails hung across a huge, open pergola. The large pergola was sized and designed to fit within a heavy-duty pole tent and includes permanently-installed gas heaters and thoughtfully placed receptacles for power for multi-season use. 

outdoor patio

Access was a huge challenge in this downtown establishment. The clients needed direct access to the kitchen, the rear alley for deliveries and food trucks, the adjacent parking lot for event-goers, and the bar & dining room.  Our designers incorporated an overhead counter door between the bar and patio to provide walk-up window service during events and make sure that delicious food could be enjoyed in the great outdoors.

 

Our designers went for materials that weren’t precious and would age well — natural wood fencing, colored concrete with a stone paver stamp, and ribbed metal siding. They added touches of vintage and natural elements to create the soul of the space — large, reclaimed lit signs (one of which hung on the building on the same lot decades before), grand potted plants, and a boxwood wall. Incorporating pops of color added to the personality and brand reinforcement, with brightly colored Adirondack chairs and cornhole boards, placed under rows of cafe lights and shade sails hung across a huge, open pergola. The large pergola was sized and designed to fit within a heavy-duty pole tent and includes permanently-installed gas heaters and thoughtfully placed receptacles for power for multi-season use. 

 

 

Access was a huge challenge in this downtown establishment. The clients needed direct access to the kitchen, the rear alley for deliveries and food trucks, the adjacent parking lot for event-goers, and the bar & dining room.  Our designers incorporated an overhead counter door between the bar and patio to provide walk-up window service during events and make sure that delicious food could be enjoyed in the great outdoors.

 

 

Along with enjoying a drink or a bite out back, there were also many considerations made to create a music venue for events. Stage placement and lighting decisions were thoughtfully made to be considerate of the many close neighboring businesses — to make sure the sound was traveling in the proper direction of the audience. Privacy was built into the perimeter fence for ticketed events while allowing airflow to remain a priority.

 

 

An editorial, memorable selfie wall was important for their marketing team, so we incorporated a really cool vintage sign with changeable copy that can be tailored to whatever event is happening on the patio — a concert, private party, or ticketed dining event.

RESULTS

Designing new, with respect to 100 years of history, isn’t a brief that comes up every day – but when it does, it creates truly inspired results. The Syndicate restaurant is a unique and complex dining and event space that simultaneously takes you back in time, and puts you in the present. It is a one-of-a-kind atmosphere to create your own history with good friends and delicious food. 

Honorable Mention 2021

AIA Dayton

In Architecture Projects over 5,000 SF, Revival Design Collective received an Honorable Mention Award for The Syndicate at the American Institute of Architects, Dayton Chapter‘s Focus on Design Awards Program.

 

The Syndicate (Bellefontaine, OH) once served as Jackson’s News Stand from 1946-1993. The Syndicate features decorative and historic pieces from its former life. A large, custom-built bar topped with salvaged glass windows and large quartz countertops resembles a New York-style newsstand, while the walls are adorned in local Bellefontaine newspapers from years past. The restaurant’s massive indoor center hall also features exposed ceilings and elaborate custom tile flooring.

 

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