Farmacia Trattoria adds to Cornelia’s downtown history and its economy by breathing new life into old buildings and creating jobs.
Cornelia’s newest downtown restaurant held its ribbon cutting Wednesday afternoon. The Italian restaurant is the latest venture of local restaurateurs Jay and Melissa Reeder, along with co-owner Chef John Vullo. The owners and staff stood proudly in front of the pizza ovens from Naples, Italy as Jay Reeder cut the ribbon.
This is the restaurateur’s third and newest restaurant in downtown Cornelia. Reeder and his wife also own Fenders Diner and Community Brew and Tap. All three businesses are on the same street and the same block.
Historical value
Many older buildings in downtown areas typically end their useful lives at the end of a wrecking ball to make room for progress. Not for Jay Reeder and his business ventures. Instead of tearing down old buildings, he breathes new life into those buildings that were built to serve a community. “They’re beautiful,” Reeder said.
All of his business ventures are housed in buildings in Cornelia that were established more than 80 years ago and some are more than 100 years old. Commercial Executive Suites located just across the railroad tracks from his restaurants started out as the First National Bank then became Regions Bank. Community Brew and Tap is in the old Community Bank and Trust building that was once Cornelia Bank. Fenders Diner is in a building that was originally established as Burrell’s Market in the early 1900’s.
Reeder told of the historical relevance of the buildings his restaurants are in. “In these small towns, the history in the old buildings tell the story of the town and how it evolved and how it developed,” he said. He said that the buildings are “just living testaments to the people that built the town long before we got here.”
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As customers frequent his restaurants, he wants people to see the significant contribution of the people that built the community. “We just want to showcase the history and never forget what they did and they got us to where we are,” Reeder said.
Farmacia Trattoria is now in the building that once housed Arnold’s Drugs that was in business for 83 years. When Reeder began clearing out the building to build his restaurant, he found boxes of old medicine bottles in the basement. Some of those bottles still contained medicine. Reeder incorporated many of those bottles in the decor of the modern restaurant.
He explained his responsibility in maintaining the historical significance of the buildings. “Our job is to take this building that they left here for us and make it great for another hundred years.”
He pointed out that all of the buildings in the downtown area were where the community met and gathered whether it was for shopping, eating, banking, or entertainment. The downtown areas were the community centers for so many people for many years. Reeder wants to see that again. “We want to bring them back to life and create spaces where the community can come together, gather, celebrate, and have experiences that are one of a kind,” Reeder said.
Economic Impact
He explained his views of the economic impact of business ventures in downtown Cornelia. “Cornelia can lead the way for the region and create spaces that people come to that are regional destinations and bring money to Cornelia, help create great jobs and economic activity,” Reeder said.
“As this downtown comes alive again, the economic impact as far as people that are local to us is tremendous,” he said.
Reeder explained that his restaurants have a lot of guests that are not just local to Habersham but come from across the region to come eat. Those regional visitors bring money into the community that funds jobs. “We are creating jobs, actually really good jobs, for people that live in Habersham, love Habersham, and love Cornelia,” he said.
Of his many ventures and goals, he has another goal he shared, “We want to create a way for them (people) to not have to move away to support their families,” Reeder said
