Horsefeathers Market & Residences adds gourmet touch to Connecticut Street
Eric Amodeo
Horsefeathers Market & Residences, the former cavernous antiques emporium on the West Side, has been recast as a gourmet restaurant, work areas for four small food manufacturers and 24 loft-style apartments renting for as much as $1,225 per month.
The rebirth of the five-story, 1896 brick building – with its 14-foot-high ceilings, open, unobstructed views and exposed brick- and ductwork – is helping transform Connecticut Street from the blighted, vacant and crime-ridden area it was a decade ago.
“It’s a phenomenal addition to the street,” said Robin Johnson, who heads the Connecticut Street Association. “Thirteen years ago, when I bought Vilardo Printing and the building, Connecticut Street was 85 percent vacant, littered with graffiti, and there were gangs, drug dealing and prostitutes on the corner.