If you live in the LGD you've probably always wondered about that rundown coffee shop/book store emblazoned with Where the Wild Things Are characters. It has recently been renovated, and there are plans to turn it into an ice cream and liquor shop (a delicious combo).
Hillary Barq, a member of the Barq's root beer family, presented her idea to turn the place into an ice cream and liquor store to the Coliseum Neighborhood Association. The neighbors had some reservations about the liquor aspect, though, and asked her to sign a good neighbor agreement promising not to sell open containers or sell the business to an establishment that would sell open containers.
The proposed shop is at the site of the Abstract Book Shop and Cafe which, according to Yelp reviews, seemed to also double as a shady substance abuse treatment center. But the Internet also says it was a hostel and a home for the mentally ill.
Covered with Where the Wild Things Are-themed murals, one blogger put it that they could "never really figure out what's going on there."
• Member of family behind Barq’s root beer planning ice cream and liquor store for Magazine Street [Uptown Messenger]