Over the past century, the Jasper County Garage served a variety of needs for local government, but by 2018 was mostly vacant, had several non-historic retrofits, and was a bit of an eyesore in Newton’s Main Street District. This adaptive reuse project breathed new life into the space. What was once an empty garage, is now a vibrant local restaurant: Viet-Thai Taste! 

In this project, we highlighted the building’s history as a garage while making the space functional for a new restaurant. The building was constructed in two phases (1915 and 1920), and we used that divide to house the required amenities. The 1915 building holds the commercial kitchen and restrooms; the 1920 addition serves as the dining room. Prominent windows, large vehicular-scale entrances, and exposed brickwork give the restaurant a stylish, interesting ambiance and serve as an homage to the building’s original use as a service garage.