New owners take Binky Commons back to its roots

by Melissa Martin

Following two years of extensive renovations, the public is getting its first peek inside a Hinckley landmark that has not only served as the community’s general store and a doctor’s residence, but as a beverage store, cabinet retailer and, as of last month, Stefanec’s Barber Shop.

Not only does the white, two-story building at 1388 Ridge Road have a fresh, modern interior, it also has a new name: Binky Commons.

Naming the building was probably the easiest decision Tom Vanover and Karl Kastl III had to make after purchasing the space in 2019. Inasmuch as Kastl’s father is the creator of Binky the Buzzard – the iconic logo used by the township to promote its annual Buzzard Day festivities – the fit was natural, the pair said.

“To us, it was just perfect,” Vanover said, adding that Binky the Buzzard was also the inspiration for the main character in the 1969 Disney short film, “It’s Tough to be a Bird,” which features footage of Hinckley and it’s famous Buzzard Day.

As for the dozens of decisions the partners have made in the months since, Vanover and Kastl are the first to admit most weren’t as easy to make, but all were made with the township’s best interests at heart.

“Basically what we’ve been working on the past 2 ½ years is fixing 180 years of bad decisions,” Vanover joked.

As part of the renovation process, Vanover, a carpenter by trade who works as chief building official for the city of Cleveland, and Kastl, who operates an HVAC business, preserving as much of the original building as possible has been paramount.

Not only did the pair remove linoleum and other flooring to reveal and maintain as much of the original tongue-and-groove floor as possible, they also removed the ceiling tiles to expose the original post and beam construction used throughout the building. In addition to replacing all the plumbing and electrical wiring, the upstairs walls, once covered with horsehair plaster, were stripped down to the boards to allow a full environmental assessment.

Vanover and Kastl performed the bulk of the work themselves and were surprised to find the building’s main supports still partially covered in bark.

That’s not the only discovery the pair made. The team assembled a kind of makeshift museum display that features many items they uncovered during renovation:  a pre-1950s National Biscuit Company box, an old lathe hammer, a Clorox bleach bottle from 1934 and a section of wood adorned with the name Clyde Brown, among other items. Brown was the second owner of the building, Vanover said.

Also discovered were a pair of handmade denim coveralls and a Victorian-era silken coronation dress, bonnet and parasol that likely would have been worn by an adolescent girl more than a century ago.

“It’s been like taking a trip back in time,” Vanover said of the experience. “Uncovering these things has been a lot of fun.”

In addition to creating a space to house the new Stefanec’s Barbershop, which hosted a grand-opening celebration July 24, Vanover and Kastl put three apartments in the building, along with a space that can serve as an office. They said all four spaces will be leased in the coming weeks.

“These are really some cool spaces,” Vanover said. “Up on the second floor, for example, we exposed the old wood and a vaulted-timber ceiling that was covered by a 7-foot-high flat ceiling that had been installed at some point. We brought everything we could back, sanded the floors and, at the same time, we installed all the modern conveniences.”

The last space to tackle is the smaller, 90-year-old section of the building that has been home to Hinckley’s Coffee & Donuts, which was originally a carport then transformed into a storefront. Vanover said he and Kastl were hoping to postpone renovating this area until at least 2022, but an accident that sent a GMC Denali careening through the front of the building in June quickly changed their plans.

“It didn’t make much sense to wait after that,” Vanover said.

Again, their goal is to honor Hinckley’s history.

“We wanted to be good stewards and not change what this building has always been to Hinckley, but we wanted to give the community something more classy and modern,” Vanover said. “With any luck, that’s exactly what we’ve accomplished. It’s been here for 180 years, and hopefully it will be around for at least another 180.” ∞