For years, 2026 Fairmount Ave. was a source of blight, slowly collapsing next door to the Fairmount Pet Shoppe. Over a number of years, the owners slowly fixed up the building, with the property apparently changing hands in 2010, midway through the lengthy renovation. We last checked in on this place almost two years ago, when it was still a construction site.

In 2009

Current view

At that time, the property owner’s father indicated that a Chinese restaurant or a bakery might be taking over the space, which the owner was hoping to rent out for $3,600/mo. In the nearly two years since, construction has been completed and Fare has opened its doors immediately to the west, but no new business has appeared in this space.

Closer look

Signs in the window of this tastefully renovated storefront show that the property owners are taking an interesting and unique approach to leasing out the space. They’re asking passersby to email them with suggestions for the type of business they’d like to see in the space. We first noticed the signs a month or two ago, but it’s possible they’ve been up for longer.

The signs

So with those signs in mind, what would people like to see in this space? Another restaurant? A bakery? A satellite OCF Coffee House location? We’re all ears. And apparently so are the folks who own the building.