Popular downtown restaurant closes as historic Fayetteville buildings for sale

Lizmary Evans, Fayetteville Observer

The historic Huske Hardware buildings are for sale and as of Sunday, the popular Huske Hardware Restaurant & Brewing Co. was closed.

The three buildings at 405-421 Hay St. in downtown Fayetteville were listed for $4.6 million on March 18, according to the property listing.

“Sunday was the last day of Huske, and the owner took back possession of the space yesterday,” Patrick Murray, a real estate broker with Grant Murray Real Estate said Tuesday. “We’ve had a lot of interest on this since going on the market.”

Murray declined to comment on why the monthly lease agreement with Huske ended.

Historic Huske Hardware buildings are on the market for $4.6 million dollars as of March 18, 2024.
Historic Huske Hardware buildings are on the market for $4.6 million dollars as of March 18, 2024.

When reached by phone on Tuesday, Mike Momirovich, one of the owners of Huske Hardware Restaurant, was surprised to learn about the restaurant's closure, stating, "This is news to me."

Momirovich is one of 12 people listed as officials of Team Collins-H3X LLC, which owns the Huske restaurant. Joseph C. Weller is listed as the registered agent.

The three parcels up for sale total 1.98 acres, according to the listing, and have been owned by the Baggett family since the 1970s. The family just recently sold another major property in Wrightsville Beach last year, according to the StarNews in Wilmington.

“This is a landmark location with a lot of great history,” Murray said. “We’re in discussion with quite a few tenants who are interested in the restaurant space, but cannot say who as of yet; hopefully in the next couple of months.”

The nearly 70,000 square feet of building space at Huske Hardware has been home to a large variety of tenants over the years.
The nearly 70,000 square feet of building space at Huske Hardware has been home to a large variety of tenants over the years.

Huske's history in Fayetteville

The original building at 405 Hay St. was built in 1904 by Benjamin R. Huske as a hardware store. It operated as such until it closed in 1971.

It was listed in 1999 on the National Register of Historic Places as part of Fayetteville Downtown Historic District, which included Hay, Person, Green, Gillespie, Bow, Old, W. Russell and Cool Spring Streets.

Between 1971 and 1996 a variety of tenants called the Huske building at 405 Hay St. home, with businesses ranging from furniture stores to jewelers.

In 1996, after completing renovations to change the store into a restaurant, it reopened as Huske Hardware and began serving burgers, sandwiches, barbecue and more.

Learn more: What's the history of Huske Hardware and Bell's Feed Store?

Reporter Lizmary Evans covers growth and development for The Fayetteville Observer. You can reach her at LEvans@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Did Fayetteville, NC's Huske Hardware Restaurant & Brewery close?

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