Renovation uncovers
 Woodstock history

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Travis Haughton – thaughton@nwherald.com The newly renovated D.C. Cobb's at 226 Main St. in Woodstock features a wall of historical photos from the downtown area and custom booths with copper tabletops. (Travis Haughton ())

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WOODSTOCK – D.C. Cobb’s restaurant in Woodstock has brought a bit of the past to the present.

The bar owned by Daniel Hart recently completed a year-long renovation that, among other things, uncovered the original brick interior of the historical building. D.C. Cobb’s is the former site of Stompanato’s barber shop. Woodstock native Johnny Stompanato – the son of the barber shop owner – made headlines 40 years ago when he was involved with actress Lana Turner. The younger Stompanato was stabbed to death by Turner’s 14-year-old daughter.

Hart said the renovation brought back some of the charm of the original building, which his plan wanted to highlight.

“We tore off all the drywall, exposed the original brick behind everything, and we located the original window openings,” he said. “We found some newspaper clippings from the ’40s and put them inside the windows. We had the sills and framings rebuilt and put lighting in behind them.”

Hart said the renovation involved the interior and exterior of the building. Inside, a new tin ceiling was installed along with a copper bar top and renovated dining tables and booths. Outside the exterior makeover included cafe-style windows.

“When I bought D.C. Cobb’s, I made the decision to keep the name because I liked the establishment and I liked the historical aspect,” Hart said. “My background is much more in the restaurant and bar business, so I knew I wanted to keep a nice nightlife and enhance it by making it a full-service restaurant with a little more class to it.”

Work began with minor remodeling last year before the project began in full at the start of the year. The work was done with the restaurant closed only two days after the copper bar top was installed.

“We had lengthy discussions with the city about being able to remodel the front of the building,” Hart said. “We had some hurdles with the historical commission about approving some of the things we wanted to do. We started the process last winter and didn’t get the final approval for everything until August. But the end result is everything came out pretty good.”

Inside, Hart credited designer Chris Phillippi with his work on restoring the booths and tables.

“It turned out better than what I hoped,” Hart said.

Outside, One Zero Charlie owner Michael Stanard helped with the design of the exterior.

“It’s fabulous; I’m really tickled to be a part of it,” Stanard said. “Dan Hart and [building owner Mark Bezik] are great, and they wanted it to be great. I’m extremely happy with it.”

“We went through several different drawings,” Hart recalled. “Overall, I’d say the city’s guidance was very helpful. Together we were able to come up with an end result that makes everybody happy and is a great addition to the community.”

But the renovation did not stop with the building. Hart hired new chef Derek Brif six months ago, and the pair set about creating a new menu.

“We hired a full-time chef about six months ago and have been working on the menu since,” Hart said. “We took a lot of time with the menu and got it done right before we released it. We cure and smoke our bacon here and make everything in house, including our salad dressings. We spent months working on a unique burger recipe ... and we have fish frys every Friday.

“We made sure we were cognizant of price point, so you can still have a drink or two and not spend an exorbitant amount of money.”

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