JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — West Walnut Street restaurant owner Tom Seaton had been on West Walnut Street for four decades when a massive infrastructure project began – Niki Giles started her restaurant in the middle of it.

“It was a long process for us all, but all we could do was just kind of put our heads down and get through it," Firehouse Restaurant owner Seaton told News Channel 11. Seaton's business has operated on West Walnut about a half-mile from East Tennessee State University since the 1980s, with memories dating back to sidewalk replacement about 30 years ago.

While the $41 million massive infrastructure project came upon Seaton's existing business, which was also still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, Giles bought a former bank building several blocks to the

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