By Matt Mackinder
Clarkston News Editor

When Rudy’s Market closed more than a year ago at 9 S. Main Street, co-owner Robert Esshaki said that the plan was to reopen in 18-24 months as two restaurants, including utilizing the space one building down at 5 S. Main Street, the former Clarkston News building.
Rudy’s closed Sept. 4, 2021 after being open for nearly 90 years.
“Right now, we have a plan,” Esshaki told The Clarkston News in Aug. 2021. “Since we are such a big footprint – over 7,000 square feet plus 3,000 square feet upstairs – we do have room to include part of Rudy’s in there as well. Our plan is to do two restaurants as part of Rudy’s. We have a beautiful basement there we want to turn into a speakeasy if all our plans fall into place.”
Plans are moving along as Esshaki has presented them in detail in recent weeks to the city’s historic district commission and planning commission.
At the Sept. 14 historic district commission meeting, Esshaki introduced the architectural firm for this project and briefed the commission on his hopes for the renovation of two historic buildings into two new restaurant concepts. Principals of the firm, Victor Saroki and Alex Saroki, of Saroki Architecture, presented their design development plan for converting the market and newspaper building.
The Rudy’s Market portion will be rehabilitated referencing historic photographs to honor overhead doors and windows of its past as a service garage and keeping existing window and door openings intact.
The 5 South Main portion will remain basically intact, except for new windows and a small 500 square-foot addition for indoor/outdoor dining on the north wall.
After a thorough review of all four elevations, the applicants and architects engaged in discussions with commissioners, which led into next steps.
The commission will utilize what was learned at this meeting to do research into standards, guidelines and other resources to arrive at a report on the 5 South Main and 9 South Main development, and provide a consolidated report on findings to the applicant’s team as soon as possible.
Then at the Sept. 21 planning commission meeting, Esshaki and the representatives of Saroki Architecture gave another presentation, similar to the one a week prior. Commissioners agreed to discuss the plan with all planning commission members present before recommending any further course of action.
Esshaki was also set to return to the historic district commission Oct. 11 for discussion on what the agenda said was “new restaurant concepts.”

PHOTO: Rudy’s stands near the corner of Main Street and Washington in downtown Clarkston, with the former Clarkston News building at the corner. File photo