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Pilaf opens in new space Bob Pennell photo The Pilaf Restaurant is the seventh and final tenant to move into the newly renovated Masonic Lodge on Ashland�s Plaza. The restaurant has two levels of outdoor dining on the Calle Guanajuato side. A walkway that runs through the middle of the building connects the Plaza with the Calle. Renovated Masonic Lodge provides Ashland tenants with high-profile quarters By Sara Murphy ASHLAND � Pilaf started cooking Wednesday. That means a full house for the newly renovated Masonic Lodge building on Ashland�s Plaza. Pilaf, a vegetarian restaurant facing Calle Guanajuato, was the last of the mall�s seven tenants to open its doors for business. Developers Allan Sandler and Ed Bemis invested a year of construction and more than $2 million into the 121-year-old building. Now the work has dwindled to a few finishing touches, mostly decorating the new walkway that connects the plaza to the Calle Guanajuato park along Ashland Creek. "The walkway will be as beautiful as the rest of the building," Sandler says. Plans to spruce it up include staining the floor with terra cotta and adding colorful cafe-style awnings over the seven doors. "It�ll really jazz things up," Sandler says. "It�s a little too modern, a little too cold right now." Rich Benson, owner of the Ashland Hardwood Gallery, says the building is perfect, just like he knew it would be. On April 14, Benson�s gallery was the first business to open its doors in the new building. (Technically, however, the honors go to Gold & Gems jewelry store, which had been in the building all along.) Benson says he snagged the last space in the Masonic building last spring after it caught his attention from a bench on the Plaza�s center island. "It was the highest rent I could find," he jokes. On a serious note, Benson says the central location with heavy pedestrian traffic is just the type of high-profile location his business needs. "And that crosswalk," he says, pointing to the Plaza, "Leads right to my door." Built in 1879, the Masonic Lodge also housed the Ashland Post Office for many years. A third floor was added in 1928. It was listed on the National Historic Register in 1992. Now the building holds seven businesses � including a hair salon, a clothes boutique and a real estate office � all accessible by elevator or stairs. Pilaf, which moved from a 23-seat space next door to an 80-seat space on the building�s backside, has a second-story balcony overlooking Ashland Creek. The tables are made from the building�s original floorboards, which were replaced during renovation. On the building�s third floor, another restaurant, Firefly, has a view of the plaza. It�s a big change for Firefly, says owner Dana Keller. After six years on North First Street, she had no plans to move until Sandler sweet-talked her. "Allan Sandler kept wooing us," Keller said. "He said our food was too good for the ambiance. Our ambiance is much better now." With the move, Firefly also added a full bar, live jazz and lunch to its menu. "We can�t ask for much more," Keller says. "We�ve been very busy." Pilaf owner Susan Powell says she�s taking a bit of a gamble on the new building. She�s uncertain how construction this summer on Calle Guanajuato will affect business, but remains optimistic. "There�s different kinds of people," Powell says. "Some people like to watch the construction." In the end, she believes the project to repair damage from the New Year�s Day flood of 1997 will make for a nicer space. "If you think of Lithia Park as the city�s front lawn, the Calle is going to be its backyard," Powell says. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA