Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl and Eighth Ward Alderman Ann Rainey joined owners Anne Carlson and Cody Modeer for the formal opening of Ward 8, a cocktail lounge and small-plates restaurant at 629 Howard St.
The owners said the restaurant/lounge gets its name from the classic cocktail Ward Eight, said to have originated in Boston in the late 1800s, and from the location of the bar in the City’s Eighth Ward. Fixtures throughout the bar were reclaimed from churches and other uses.
The property is one of three along Howard Street that the City purchased last year to jumpstart economic development there. Ms. Carlson and Mr. Modeer have a lease-to-own agreement with the City for the property and they rent one of the two affordable apartments above the business.
The bar had a soft opening on Nov. 30 and officially opened its doors on Dec. 12.