Phuong Le's Atlanta Highway Seafood Market is up to code, and it's back with bathrooms, a dining space and new decorations.
"It took longer than we expected, but we wanted to get it done and get it done right," Le said at his 227 Atlanta Highway SW business Thursday. "The law is the law, and we are law-abiding citizens, so by all means, we wanted to abide."
After a customer complained in spring 2010 that the market didn't have easily accessible bathrooms, Gainesville officials handed Le a code enforcement citation. With financial stress caused by the Gulf oil spill, Le was afraid he couldn't take on the extra project of adding bathrooms without going out of business.
Le visited Gainesville City Council members in early September to talk about his financial burdens and appeared before Municipal Court Judge Hammond Law to discuss the citations. Law found him guilty and charged a $700 fine that would be waived if the construction was completed in 60 days.
Le contacted Law in November after obtaining construction permits from the city, and Law extended the construction time by 90 days.
"It feels like a real restaurant now," said Lynn Cameron, who visits the market almost every week. "And it reminds me of the food I used to eat in New Orleans."
The expansion includes two bathrooms, a seating area with tables and chairs and extra space that makes the atmosphere brighter and friendlier. The walls feature shadow boxes and nets filled with shells and plastic fish that Le bought in Mississippi.
Le has hired an artist to paint a mural on one of the walls, and a customer has pledged to donate old boat items to hang around the dining area.
"The artist will probably paint a shrimp boat or dock, something like home," Le said. "We try to make it as simple as we can to keep the costs and prices down. We've always seen this as a working man's place."
Thursday's lunchtime rush seemed busier than ever before.
Bryan and Anthony Abercrombie, brothers from Gainesville, claimed a table as "regulars" who stop by the market several times a week.
"It's always clean and one of the best places to eat seafood," Bryan Abercrombie said. "There's always a great crowd that you can eat with and get to know. I've probably made 30 or 40 friends here, and I'm glad Phuong could maintain that atmosphere while expanding it."
The brothers ate at one of the restaurant's original tables with stools, but they're glad that children and older customers have a place to sit.
"I've invited one of my friends, who is 85, to come by here when he goes through Gainesville, and I know this seating will help," Anthony Abercrombie said. "It's tough for even the fittest person 85 and up to sit on stools."
When Le opened the business two years ago, Department of Agriculture officials inspected it and said the business didn't need bathrooms under its restaurant policy because only a small area of the market provided seating.
However, city and state policies follow the International Plumbing Code for customer facilities, which requires bathrooms for any "structures and tenant spaces intended for public utilization - and the path of travel to such facilities shall not exceed a distance of 500 feet."
The code also states customers can't walk through storage spaces or a kitchen to reach the bathroom. Le's restroom for employees was located behind the kitchen.
"It looks good," Gainesville resident Dean Smith said after he ordered lunch Thursday. "I'm glad they put in the bathrooms, though I may not agree with why they were forced to do it."