BECKLEY, WV (WVNS)– The City of Beckley has not yet signed a lease with the Rainelle company that is poised to move into the former Zen’s building, city treasurer Billie Trump said Wednesday.
The city bought the building last July for just over a million dollars after Beckley Common Council approved the purchase.
The city has an agreement with Fruits of Labor, a Greenbrier County cafe that operates a nationally recognized addiction recovery program as part of its platform, for the cafe to move into the space.
Trump said that Fruits of Labor is set to move into the building and that the restaurant is a centerpiece of the plan to revitalize downtown.
The cafe will offer downtown business owners, along with the Internal Revenue Service employees who are returning to work in a downtown building, a local eatery.
Trump said Fruits of Labor has a reputation that will draw people to Neville Street.
He said the importance of Fruits of Labor to the City of Beckley extends beyond the terms of a lease but that any lease will be presented to Council for approval.
“It will be approved by Council, as all of our leases are,” added Trump.
Trump said the Zen’s building, which was fully renovated by the late local businessman Dan Bickey, is the best of the downtown buildings.