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Jeff and Cathy Gokie working on the back patio of Henry on 11th several years ago. The Gokies have owned the property since 2011, and have put countless hours into restoring what they can and renovating what they can't.
The stonework on the corner of the building at 11th Street and 26th Avenue is one of the many improvements the Gokies have made to Henry on 11th since they bought it in 2011.
The Henry building stands tall at the corner of 26th Avenue and 11th Street. Prior to owning the Henry, Owners Jeff and Cathy Gokie operated Big Apple Bagels. Today, Jeff works at CS Nelson and Cathy is retired from being a process engineer at BD.
Cathy and Jeff Gokie try to keep decorations at Henry on 11th historical, like the 7-foot by 8-foot mirror from the Thurston Hotel at the end of the bar.
Henry on 11th is an icon of downtown Columbus, and of 11th Street.
Signified by a large metal H on the corner of the building and the word "HENRY" emblazoned across the building's trim, the turn-of-the-century brick building has seen many important events, people and businesses come and go in its time.
One half of the building was built in 1886 and used as a mercantile until the other half, built in 1903, was added on as a saloon. In the hundred years since then, the building has had a myriad of uses.
Owners Cathy and Jeff Gokie have spent the last 11 years of those hundred years operating the building as an event venue. Over the years, they have renovated and restored many aspects of the space, including the building's iconic bar.
"My absolute favorite is the bar, over 35 feet. Now the bar itself is not original, but we have photos that tell us that, and we're quite certain, that it’s the exact spot it’s always been," Cathy said.
Jeff agreed that the bar is also his favorite part, because it adds not only to the character but the utility of the building as well.
"Everybody loves to be a bartender for a little bit, so you can get behind the bar and make sure people feel good and at home, that’s something I really like," Jeff said.
While the venue does not serve drinks, they have made it as accommodating as possible for those who wish to do so including the addition of an ice machine, which they noticed other similar venues lacked.
"We had our son's wedding in Lincoln, and it was a great place but one of the things that was just crazy was there was no ice machine, and in downtown Lincoln, it's hard to find, so that was a convenience we wanted here," Cathy said.
Toward the back end of the bar, one will find an approximately 7-foot by 8-foot mirror from the old Thurston Hotel. The Thurston was located at 2422 13th St. in Columbus, where Artsy Haven is now. Cathy said they put the mirror in to add historic flair to the building.
"It was a pretty amazing hotel, apparently. People came from Omaha and everywhere, super fancy place with the latest and greatest technology," Cathy said. "A friend of ours gave it to us, the hotel had been in his family, the mirror was too big for his garage."
Now, she said, she can't imagine the building without the mirror. Throughout the building, one will find photos of Columbus from the 19th and 20th centuries as a tribute to the site's history.
The Gokies bought the Henry because it was a beautiful old building and they wanted to do something with it. Jeff added that it was something of an anniversary gift for Cathy, too.
"We thought maybe this was something we could make a project out of. We didn’t know what we were going to do with it at the time," Jeff said. "But we had an opportunity to renovate and keep part of Columbus going."
After a visit to The Apothecary in Lincoln, the idea struck the Gokies to turn their building into an event center. They were impressed and intrigued by The Apothecary's simple model of letting customers have a key and asking them to clean up when they're done.
"We weren't familiar with those kind of event centers before that, and thought, 'That's great!' It makes food and alcohol costs lower for the guests and allows for a lot more flexibility," Cathy said.
Since purchasing the property, Cathy, Jeff, their kids and family members have put in countless hours making the building better and safer while maintaining the vintage look.
When the Gokies bought the building, a bar occupied half of the bottom floor, and several tenants occupied the upstairs apartments. While these leases ran out, Cathy and Jeff worked on whatever space wasn't occupied.
They cleaned off the back patio, redid the floors and had the exterior bricks tuckpointed, a process where the mortar between bricks is replaced on the outside edge. In the end, their effort paid off.
"One of my fonder memories is when we were renovating, my daughter, who hadn't even met her husband, and my son and his wife, did the floors," Cathy said. "We together, as a family, did it and that's a fond memory."
Another external renovation includes the masonry at the top corner of the building, facing toward 11th Street. The stonework, emblazoned "Henry" in honor of the three-time mayor of Columbus and building patriarch, R.H. Henry, had to be completely redone.
"There was some metal missing, it was just getting dilapidated, brick falling off, tuckpointing needed done and it was just falling apart, so it was good to get that done. That helped a lot," Jeff said.
Cathy and Jeff said their ease of use is what sets their business apart. All they do is hand customers the keys and ask that they clean up when they are done.
"It’s a niche where people make themselves at home. When we give people the building, there’s nobody coming in to use it from the outside or anything, walking back to their hotel or whatever, it’s all yours," Jeff said.
The venue, Jeff and Cathy said, is mostly used for parties: graduations, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. Christmas and graduations are a hit because decoration setup is minimal, Jeff said.
"Christmas time is great because we have a 12-foot-tall tree, a lot of people have done it every year since we opened. People just love it," Jeff said.
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Jeff and Cathy Gokie working on the back patio of Henry on 11th several years ago. The Gokies have owned the property since 2011, and have put countless hours into restoring what they can and renovating what they can't.
The stonework on the corner of the building at 11th Street and 26th Avenue is one of the many improvements the Gokies have made to Henry on 11th since they bought it in 2011.
The Henry building stands tall at the corner of 26th Avenue and 11th Street. Prior to owning the Henry, Owners Jeff and Cathy Gokie operated Big Apple Bagels. Today, Jeff works at CS Nelson and Cathy is retired from being a process engineer at BD.
Cathy and Jeff Gokie try to keep decorations at Henry on 11th historical, like the 7-foot by 8-foot mirror from the Thurston Hotel at the end of the bar.
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