Historic Goetchius House set to reopen in Columbus with restaurants and entertainment

Matthew Lapides and Renata Martoni visited Columbus for the first time about eight years ago when they attended their son’s graduation from what was then Fort Benning.

The couple explored Broadway and fell in love with the city, and asked themselves why they didn’t live in a place like Columbus. Antique homes and a vibrant downtown area made the couple feel as though they were part of a movie set.

“Are you kidding me,” Lapides asked. “A place like this actually exists somewhere.”

One day, Martoni’s friend gave her a tarot card reading that saw a “healing house” and dogs in her future. A couple of days later, she found a Zillow listing for a historic home in Columbus with dog statues.

She knew Goetchius House was fate, and could already envision what she wanted the property to be.

Martoni sent the listing to her husband, who thought it was interesting but wondered what the Georgia home had to do with him. They lived in Miami.

“I’ll tell you tonight at dinner,” she replied.

Lapides and Martoni are now the owners and stewards of the historic Goetchius House and hope the property’s upcoming reopening brings people together with live entertainment, dining, immersive experiences and event space.

What’s at 405 Broadway

The home was built by Richard Rose Goetchius for his bride, Mary Anne Bennett at its original location on the corner of Second Avenue and 11th Street, which is now a parking lot.

Goetchius House changed hands a number of times before Werner Bludau bought it in 1980 when it was operated as a restaurant. After the business struggled and was unable to renew its liquor license, the Cantrell family purchased the building in 2012.

Just over a decade later, the Catrells would sell Goetchius House to Lapides and Martoni.

Officially, the almost 9,000 square feet building will now be known as 405 Broadway, and contains multiple dining experiences and experiences.

Leopold’s Ice Cream, a popular Savannah ice cream parlor that is owned and operated by the film producer Stratton Leopold, partnered with 405 Broadway to sell the cold treat in Goetchius House.

“It was really one of the best ice cream parlors in the country,” Lapides said. “We’re delighted to have Leopold’s here, right in the house, for folks to enjoy.”

Goetchius House will also serve as an event space and a place the community can enter to socialize with friends in a “living room” environment, take photos and hold meetings.

A fine dining restaurant named Terre Y Mar Sapori, which means Taste of Land and Sea, is upstairs in the building. And downstairs there is a casual family dining restaurant called Studio 405.

Along with the restaurants, Goetchius House also has a bar named Bardot and a cafe that sells homemade baked goods and espresso named Sunny Cafe. 405 Broadway will also have a grab and go option, Lapides said, that offers charcuterie.

Martoni and Lapides prioritized bringing in local head chefs, hiring Columbus native Uriah Harris and Noor Harp, who moved here because of the military with her husband 13 years ago.

After moving to Columbus, Harp became a chef at Buckhead Steak & Wine until the restaurant burned down, and she then became a baker and pastry chef.

Harris found his love for cooking growing up learning how to cook southern staples like collard greens from his mom before becoming classically trained as an adult.

The two head chefs are very different, Harris and Harp said, but the one thing they have in common is they both want to plate good food. Working together they’ve learned from each other about different types of foods or skills they can utilize while designing menus at 405 Broadway, Harp said.

“(Martoni and Lapides) have given us the ability to have creativity on the plate,” Harris said. “And we just love to be able to present ourselves.”

While the menu items may change, generally the restaurants in Goetchius House will serve Mediterranean cuisine, the chefs said, covering cuisines from France, Greece and Middle Eastern cuisines.

“I am really big on nutrition that tastes good and is very colorful,” Harp said. “Really, it’s the color of the rainbow.”

“School of life”

Martoni describes herself as a “Brazilian made by Italians”. She grew up in the Brazilian countryside and built her career as an interior designer in cities such as São Paulo, San Francisco and Miami.

Lapides spent the past 30 years as an entrepreneur and became a general contractor to work with Martoni in 2018.

Between the two, Martoni is the visionary, Lapides said, and it’s his job to figure out how to bring her vision to life.

“My first vision of the house was to be some kind of school of life,” Martoni said. “Where we can eat together, talk, have workshops and look for a better life.”

Goetchius House offers an opportunity to disconnect from social media, she said, and allow people to have an immersive experience. Martoni wants people to enjoy the atmosphere of listening to the music, the smell of lavender and baking bread and be socially engaged with their community.

“The backyard is full of things for families and kids,” Lapides said. “It’s for anybody, whether it’s children, couples, seniors or families.”

Lapides and Martoni stayed true to the historic architecture of the home when restoring it by using wood from centuries’ old trees for the flooring and keeping as many of the original elements of the homes as possible.

Goetchius House’s age contributes to visitors’ experiences as well, Lapides said. The home was built in 1839, he said, so the house is not perfect.

Because the home is almost 200 years old, it allows people to relax that is not intended to be perfect in every specific way, he said.

“You’re going to see something where we’ve repaired the best we can,” Lapides said. “But the house is really the analogy of a human being because none of us are perfect.”