By CHARLES RICHARDS
The Skinny Grille restaurant at 134-136 Clarksville St. in downtown Paris was issued a “Certificate of Appropriateness” on Monday from the Historic Preservation Commission for new signage noting the establishment’s change in name to the Cattle Drive Steakhouse.
The restaurant two blocks east of the Plaza will officially take on the new name on Friday.
The restaurant has changed its menu to add more steak items, and the new name will better reflect that, the owner said. There’s no change of ownership.
It’s the new sign — not the new name — that requires the commission’s approval, commission chairman Arvin Starrett says.
“It has nothing to do with the name, it has to do with the signage — the format, color, texture, size, and so forth,” Starrett told eParisExtra.com.
“When there’s a change in the signage, the city’s sign ordinance requires a sign permit, and the ordinance further states that in the Historic District, a sign permit cannot be issued unless there is a Certificate of Appropriateness from the historic Preservation Commission first,” Starrett said.
“So, it’s a matter that there’s a change in appearance in their signage that has nothing to do with the change in their name. They can call it whatever they want to, but the sign has to meet the design standards of the Historic District, as well as meet the size mandates of both the design standards as well as the sign ordinance.”
—
send comments about this article to
Charles Richards Charles Richards moved to Paris in 2004 after retiring from a 40-year career in journalism – the last 26 years as a news writer and sports writer with The Associated Press in Dallas and Washington, D.C. In mid-2004, The Paris News coaxed him out of retirement, and he began covering the police, court and regional beat for The Paris News. Then in early 2005, he was switched to coverage of a sharply divided Paris City Council. He was appointed by the City Council in 2006 to the 12-member City Charter Review Commission, which extensively rewrote the outmoded document. His writing awards include two first-place awards in statewide competition for feature writing. The most recent was his 2005 story on a Paris doctor’s startling use of leeches in a successful attempt to re-attach a man’s severed ear. Over his career, Richards’ interview subjects include Alabama Gov. George Wallace, President Bill Clinton, President George W. Bush, David Koresh, Arnold Palmer, Muhammad Ali and numerous other political and sports figures. He is an alumnus of Texas Tech, where he was editor of the school newspaper. He lives in Paris with his wife, Barbara, who is retired after 30 years as a teacher and high school counselor.
follow: RSS
