WAXAHACHIE - Drive north into downtown Waxahachie and you’ll be welcomed by a now-defunct police department building, built more than a century ago. While it has not been in use since 2018,
Aimee and Jonathan Evola hope to change that, with plans to open a food hall and market in the building called Waxahachie Social.
About a year ago, the city encouraged Aimee and Jonathan, both veteran restaurant workers and entrepreneurs, to bid on the former Waxahachie Police Department building, which had already seen a few other businesses attempt to make the space work.
The couple felt the building at 216 N. College St. was a great fit for a food hall, and they won over city council members with a vibrant proposal featuring live cooking.
“What this town needs is a place where everybody can come together and enjoy whatever food or beverage they would like under one roof,” said Jonathan.
The 9,467-square-foot building will hold at least nine food kiosks, offering a variety of cuisines like Thai, Mediterranean and Indian, according to Jonathan.
The kiosks will be manned by workers from the couple’s company, Ellis County Hospitality Group.
The space will also house a butcher’s shop, offering high-end cuts such as Wagyu beef.
Live music and artisan markets will help lure in visitors, too.
Aimee and Jonathan are also drawing inspiration from the building’s origins as a police department building.
An indoor-outdoor bar at Waxahachie Social will serve up specialty cocktails, many inspired by the history of the building.
For example, “The 1907.” a combination of vodka, elderflower liqueur and lemon commemorates the year the building began operating.
“The College Street Cooler,” a gin, cucumber, lime and mint cocktail, pays tribute to the street it’s housed on and where the city of Waxahachie began, the duo said.
Beyond catchy menu items, Aimee and Jonathan plan to incorporate elements of the police department into their future food hall.
They will retain brick wall, wood beams and even jail cells to keep its “rustic charm,” Jonathan said.
“The old buildings, they tell a story,” he said.
The husband and wife team both started in the food industry when they were 16, and have lived in Waxahachie on and off since 2010.
Now seasoned entrepreneurs, Aimee and Jonathan’s experience includes co-founding Italian restaurant Tuscan Slice in Waxahachie and multiple ghost kitchens in Dallas.
They also launched a non-food venture, Handy People Construction.
The couple’s experience with ghost kitchens left them missing the human connection, something they believe their new food hall will help solve.
Waxahachie Social is being funded with a loan from the Small Business Administration.
Several local investors are also interested in helping with the project, Aimee said.
“We’re moving full steam ahead, and super-excited about the opportunity to create this community hub,” she said.
The duo said they have received support from the local community, as well as businesses like architectural design group Studio E Design.
The couple closed on the property in February, with plans to begin construction by Sept. 1.
They aim to open early next year.
(Reprinted from The Dallas Morning News)
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