The Standard Plate & Pour is coming, so let's remember what preceded it in the Bader Block and adjacent Parthenon.

The Standard Plate & Pour has set June 24 as its target opening date, and in the time-honored tradition of the entire human race, let's celebrate the advent of this new downtown New Albany eatery by describing its footprint -- according to what used to be there.

"The way to the royal castle? Why, you take a left where the oak tree used to be, then a right where they sold mead in leather buckets back when I was a kid."

The following was published on November 24, 2015 -- as Gospel Bird was preparing to open. Here's a photo to complete the narrative.

As a final preliminary note, be aware that TheatreWorks of Southern Indiana has been staging theatrical productions in the Parthenon for the past two years. 

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As announced on Monday, a new downtown New Albany restaurant called Gospel Bird is being developed by Louisville chef Eric Morris and is slated to open soon in the Jacob Bader Building at 207-209 Main Street.

We welcome Morris and the Gospel Bird with open arms and our senseless one-way streets.

Steve Resch now owns this prominent building, as well as the adjacent historic bank known by New Albanians as the Parthenon. Resch also will be rehabbing upstairs living space at the Bader Building, a project started by a previous owner but never completed.

Gospel Bird will be the fifth dining/drinking establishment to occupy the Bader Building site since 2007. Others have been located in the Parthenon space. Following is a brief rundown of previous occupants ... because institutional memory is important in a city where selective recall is the norm.

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When the Mr. and Mrs. Confidential moved downtown in 2003, the Bader Building’s street level commercial space was occupied by Maytag Laundry & Dry Cleaning, which had been in operation for decades.

At the time, both building and business were owned by Carl Holliday and Steve Goodman, who had purchased them in 1999. I’m unclear as to exactly when Maytag closed, although it was still operational in 2006.

When David Himmel departed Bistro New Albany to open his own bar, the Maytag floor space was remodeled and Connor’s Place was born in May, 2007

By September of 2008, Goodman and Holliday had placed both the Bader Building and the Parthenon up for auction (eventually they were sold to new owners), but Connor’s Place had been gone for more than six months.

Himmel put Connor’s in storage in mid-2008 while opening The Market Street Fish House (current location of the Louis Le Francais), then re-establishing Connor’s Place in the freshly rehabbed space now housing Bella Roma. It opened there during Harvest Homecoming, 2008.

The MSFH closed in November, 2009, and Connor’s Place became defunct in May of 2010.

In the early summer of 2008, Studio’s Grill and Pub took over in the Bader Building. Studio’s was owned and operated by Trish Meyer, formerly a key employee at Sam’s Food & Spirits. Studio’s was the scene for many city council unhappy hours, and was reviewed favorably on more than one occasion.

Studio’s closed in September of 2010, and almost immediately, Matt McMahan opened The Irish Exit. It wasn’t terribly Irish, and apart from a brief period in early 2011 when Drew Scharlow manned the Exit’s kitchen, the establishment generally functioned as a nighttime drinks mecca.

In November of 2011, McMahan announced The Bank Fusion Cuisine + Lounge in the Parthenon space, but it never really jelled. By November of 2012, The Bank had become a music venue called Dillinger’s, which enjoyed a longer run, through 2013 and into 2014.

The Irish Exit ran for four years, making its final exit in late August, 2014. Shortly thereafter, Don Vito’s Italian Bistro became the second downtown restaurant to feature Italian cuisine. There was optimism when Don Vito's was announced, but considerable snark in the opening innings proved to be a harbinger of short life to come, as Vito left after less than a year.

Resch has owned the property since early 2015, and his team is at work preparing for the Gospel Bird restaurant's opening.

Join me in wishing good fortune to everyone involved!

Late supplements: 

Jeff Jackson reminds us that Journey Church met in the Parthenon for nine months in late 2013 and early 2014. 

The Gospel Bird is coming, so let's remember what preceded it in the Bader Building and Parthenon.

As announced on Monday, a new downtown New Albany restaurant called Gospel Bird is being developed by Louisville chefs Eric Morris and Dustin Staggers, and is slated to open soon in the Jacob Bader Building at 207-209 Main Street.

We welcome Staggers, Morris and the Gospel Bird with open arms and our senseless one-way streets.

Steve Resch now owns this prominent building, as well as the adjacent historic bank known by New Albanians as the Parthenon. Resch also will be rehabbing upstairs living space at the Bader Building, a project started by a previous owner but never completed.

Gospel Bird will be the fifth dining/drinking establishment to occupy the Bader Building site since 2007. Others have been located in the Parthenon space. Following is a brief rundown of previous occupants ... because institutional memory is important in a city where selectivity is the norm.

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When the Mr. and Mrs. Confidential moved downtown in 2003, the Bader Building’s street level commercial space was occupied by Maytag Laundry & Dry Cleaning, which had been in operation for decades.

At the time, both building and business were owned by Carl Holliday and Steve Goodman, who had purchased them in 1999. I’m unclear as to exactly when Maytag closed, although it was still operational in 2006.

When David Himmel departed Bistro New Albany to open his own bar, the Maytag floor space was remodeled and Connor’s Place was born in May, 2007

By September of 2008, Goodman and Holliday had placed both the Bader Building and the Parthenon up for auction (eventually they were sold to new owners), but Connor’s Place had been gone for more than six months.

Himmel put Connor’s in storage in mid-2008 while opening The Market Street Fish House (current location of the Louis Le Francais), then re-establishing Connor’s Place in the freshly rehabbed space now housing Bella Roma. It opened there during Harvest Homecoming, 2008.

The MSFH closed in November, 2009, and Connor’s Place became defunct in May of 2010.

In the early summer of 2008, Studio’s Grill and Pub took over in the Bader Building. Studio’s was owned and operated by Trish Meyer, formerly a key employee at Sam’s Food & Spirits. Studio’s was the scene for many city council unhappy hours, and was reviewed favorably on more than one occasion.

Studio’s closed in September of 2010, and almost immediately, Matt McMahan opened The Irish Exit. It wasn’t terribly Irish, and apart from a brief period in early 2011 when Drew Scharlow manned the Exit’s kitchen, the establishment generally functioned as a nighttime drinks mecca.

In November of 2011, McMahan announced The Bank Fusion Cuisine + Lounge in the Parthenon space, but it never really jelled. By November of 2012, The Bank had become a music venue called Dillinger’s, which enjoyed a longer run, through 2013 and into 2014.

The Irish Exit ran for four years, making its final exit in late August, 2014. Shortly thereafter, Don Vito’s Italian Bistro became the second downtown restaurant to feature Italian cuisine. There was optimism when Don Vito's was announced, but considerable snark in the opening innings proved to be a harbinger of short life to come, as Vito left after less than a year.

Resch has owned the property since early 2015, and his team is at work preparing for the Gospel Bird restaurant's opening.

Join me in wishing good fortune to everyone involved!

Late supplements: 

Jeff Jackson reminds us that Journey Church met in the Parthenon for nine months in late 2013 and early 2014. 

Don Vito's has left the building.

Seldom if ever have I said this, but: Addition by subtraction.

Business First demeans the late Exit, then chronicles its Italian transformation.

3. With downtown normality almost restored, there's hope: Don Vito's Italian Bistro.

You can bet we're looking forward to giving New Albany's new rustic Italian bistro a try. Week in, week out, downtown, year-round. Cyle and Ulrike Mullikin put their money down, and not just for four days in October. The exterior touch-up is solid; the former Exit needed a freshening. The chef is Annette Sacco, previously of Louisville's now defunct La Gallo Rossa. I'm told Don Vito's is open for business, but I'm not seeing any menus on-line, so if anyone has more up-to-date information, please let us know.

Business First demeans the late Exit, then chronicles its Italian transformation.

Last week, NAC broke the Irish Exit's closing: Irish Exit makes its ... exit. Now Business First offers details in The Irish Exit in New Albany is going Italian (by Caitlin Bowling), but not before two strange lead sentences.

The Irish Exit, a rundown bar in downtown New Albany, is changing nationalities.

“The Irish Exit has exited the building and exited the universe, hopefully," said Cyle Mullikin, who is now leasing the property.

Why is the word "rundown" necessary to the story?

Why is the snarky "exited the universe" quote necessary to the story?

They're jarring, and more appropriate to a blog mike mine than Business First. Has it scrapped the stodgy traditional style template in a bid to emulate the breezy breathlessness of Insider Louisville's business coverage?

And then there's this little matter of consistency in spelling.

Mullikin and his wife, Ulrike Mullikin, who used to work as a restaurant manager at The Brown Hotel, will open an upscale Italian restaurant called Don Vito’s Italian Bistro in the former Irish Exit location. They have hired Annette Saco, owner and chef at the now-closed La Gallo Rosso in the Highlands, as their head chef.

Kyle Mullikin described the cuisine for Don Vito's as fresh, rustic Italian and the restaurant's ambiance as an Italian speakeasy. The bar will serve signature cocktails, and the menu will include sea bass, risotto, scallops and stuffed chicken breast.

First Cyle, then Kyle.

This is the second time in a week that I've read a Business First piece about New Albany and scratched my head. The first one, also written by Caitlin Bowling, was here: New Albany mayor, business owner talk about city’s growth. It read as though it had been randomly edited by dartboard, and didn't coherently tie together comments by the mayor and Ian Hall.

Of course, there remains a larger issue: Does downtown New Albany really need two Italian restaurants? I suppose the market can decide that one.

Irish Exit makes its ... exit.

Matt McMahan reveals all on Facebook:

Well....four years in the making... The Irish Exit has been sold. We've pissed off a lot of people. We've made a ton of friends. But the time has come to let it go. The new owner is changing the name , concept and all. Wish Cyle the best of luck. And now on to the opening of Charlie Nobels Eatery + Draught House in Sellersburg , Pride bar + lounge downtown NA and we also we be announcing the location for Big Four Burgers New Albany soon too!!!

I'm told the new owner will open an Italian bistro called Don Vito's.

Personal note: I still believe a solid American-style Irish pub would work here. And a downtown taqueria. But I think two Italian joints are one too many. Just my opinion, nothing more. The market will decide.