Nick’s landmark to remain visible

The Nick’s English Hut sign on the east side of the building looked lost this week behind the scaffolding and construction of the new building next door. \nTartan Realty Group is erecting a three-story apartment and retail building on the old Jiffy Treat property, located at 425 E. Kirkwood Ave., directly next to Nick’s. Where the Nick’s sign is now will be covered by the future third floor, according to the Tartan Realty Group construction plans. \nBut Mike “Mugs” Hall, Nick’s managing general partner, reached a deal Wednesday with his new neighbors.\nMayor Mark Kruzan, who has been working with Hall and Ken Williams, construction manager for the site, said Hall singed papers Wednesday with Tartan Realty cementing an agreement that the sign can remain on the side of the building.\nCarey Pittman, a bar tender at Nick’s, said Hall is applying to the city for an ordinance exception that will allow Nick’s to move the sign closer to the street and remain on the side of the building.\nBecause the sign will be hanging on the side of the building above the street, it requires a special city permit, Kruzan said. \n“The Nick’s sign is iconic of our downtown scene, and I intend to keep it that way,” Kruzan said. “We’ll do what we need to do to ensure that the sign remains part of the Kirkwood landscape and a centerpiece of the photo that has been and will be taken thousands of times from Sample Gates.”\nThe Tartan Realty building will be one story taller than Nick’s and will have a Panda Express on the first floor. The second and third floor will be apartments. The third floor apartments will have balconies facing the street that will be set back off the street, making room for the sign to be moved.\nThis was done specifically to accommodate the sign, Williams said. The Nick’s sign will be directly above the balconies once its moved, similar to a “nightlight,” Kruzan said.\n“Nick’s is pleased with our new neighbors and equally happy to have the city work with us to protect a tradition,” Hall said in a press release from the Mayor’s office.\nThe Tartan Realty building will be complete by April 1, Williams said.