A historic Denton garage has been transformed into a cool small-business hub. Known to locals as Walt's Garage, it's located at 108 W. McKinney St., and is now a place to get coffee, bicycles, and tattoos.
Bullseye Bike Shop occupies the back half of the building, while the front is home to Record Coffee Supply.
The project was developed by Michaella Rambler, founder of Stewarding Space, a company that focuses on restoring historic buildings.
"We target cherished historic assets that are waiting to be revitalized and, in the process of doing that, we help small businesses," Rambler says. For Walt's Garage, they collaborated with the city of Denton Economic Development Department and were awarded a grant as part as their Downtown Grant Program.
The 3,000-square-foot space was originally a bus depot, and the history can be seen in the front entrance of the building which has notches in the brick; as buses came in for maintenance kept growing over the years, they left a mark on the walls.
The building later became home of Denton Cabs, then for the last few decades it was Walt’s Garage. Rambler kept the garage sign up, to honor its longtime and identifiable history to Dentonians. They also kept old paint stains on the floor, a big welded fan, original beams, brickwalls, and barn doors.
Alicia Quintans from JQAQ Atelier, the architectb says they strove to keep as much of the historic integrity of the building as possible; it's now a contributing structure in the Downtown Denton Historic District.0
Bicycles
Bullseye Bike Shop has been in Denton since 2009. They moved from around the corner on Hickory Street to this new space. They repair and sell bikes, specializing in classic and hard-to-get bikes. They also custom build special bikes and restore vintage ones.
Bullseye owner Kevin Marshall, who is partnered with Rambler on the renovation, has personal history, since he used to come to Walt’s Garage and work on classic cars.
Walt's Garage
Walt's Garage
"I loved the building and the space and dreamed one day of having it," he says. “Sharing the space brings great vibes and energy with all these people coming and going, and we help support and grow each other and market each others' business."
Coffee
Record Coffee Supply is a mom-and-pop from Chase and Justina Record, two veteran baristas now with their own shop, with a goal to bring the personal touch.
They do a menu of well-made coffee and espresso drinks such as the Latte Moreno with dark brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla, with beans from Kuma in Seattle and pastries from La Casita, including vegan and gluten-free options. They welcome a large number of students from the area's three colleges: TWU, UNT, and NDCC.
They observe an unusual policy in the coffee house world: They purposedly do not offer Wi-Fi, to welcome conversations and connections. Their "background music" is the comforting hum of activity from Bullseye.
“I want our shop to be a space where we know who you are," Chase says. "I got to experience the small shop environment in Denton, and I want my kids to experience that. This town is still small enough where you can have that. I don’t want to let it die."
