Savannah’s Coolest Block

December 17, 2025

In the middle of a block in midtown Savannah, there’s a stand of grand oaks that have seen some things.

They were just young saplings when the 1898 hurricane destroyed most of the overstory, their limbs shooting up as roads beside them were graded and paved, growing quietly into giants during the sleepy decades when the neighborhood didn’t change much at all. Then, a few years ago, just a blip in tree time, really, came a shift.

People began hanging around a lot more, touching their craggy trunks in awe, music and laughter floating up through the branches. Once only appreciated by squirrels, birds, and the occasional passerby wandering through the lane, the old trees quite suddenly became the overseers of a vibrant new place imbued with their majesty.

The first phase came in 2017, when local musicians and seasoned barmen Tom Worley and Andrew Ripley leased the former insurance building at the corner of Lincoln and East 41^st streets, cradled in the roots of the biggest oak on the block. The 1970s low slung ceilings and wood paneling resonated with their retro dad cave aesthetic, and the partners opened Lone Wolf Lounge in the fall of 2018.

“We saw what was happening downtown, and we wanted to create something for locals,” says Worley of LWL’s steady crowd of well behaved patrons, many who live within walking distance. “Our whole vision was to be a neighborhood bar.”

OUR WHOLE vision WAS TO BE
A neighborhood BAR

Next came the enterprising Chris Moody and his partners, Steuart Wainwright and Davis Ediwn who co-authored the Morecai, facing our second John Davis Florist as Moondight’s in 2019. They took over the other side of the building soon after for Over Yonder, an instant hit for its honeymoon vibes and full kitchen.

Then Covid 19 stalled everything. Warley and Risley used 2020 to expand the lounge and build out the Cobra Room to host art exhibits, karaoke, and private parties for up to 60. During this time, they also spruced up the wooded bungalow behind the Tybee Island post office and opened Sea Wolf, proffering oysters, craft cocktails and the popular pairing of hot dogs and champagne.

Once the pandemic disappeared into the rearview and business began to recover, the five owners came together to discuss buying the entire property from the Multer family, who had owned it for generations.

“We already had a good relationship with each other,” says Moody of the prospect of a cooperative agreement over the collection of buildings and outdoor spaces. “We knew we could make it work.”

The ink dried on the contract in 2023, making the “Jekyll’s Park Ventures” partnership official. (It did not include proprietorship to the empty lot that many of their patrons had been using for parking. Now fenced off, one regular refers to it as “last piece of protected dirt in Savannah.”)

Along with exchanging paying rent for equity, becoming landlords also came with a major advantage.

“We get to pick our neighbors,” points out Warley. “We are very conscious of who we bring in and what we are building.”

Enter “heralded pastry chef and Sixby” proprietor, Karolina Gadski, who had developed a restaurant concept with former business partner Matthew Palmcrice and was looking for a home. She saw potential in the space between Lone Wolf and Over Yonder where most only saw a door knob’ and a “battered blue dumpster.”

“I mean, these trees,” gestured Gadski, waving her hand up towards the area’s arboreal sentries.

Sixby took over the brick spot adjacent to the Cobra Room in June of 2023, serving coffee, pastries, breakfast sandwiches, fresh baked bread, loaded grain bowls, and other elevated treats as well as baguettes to go and a well curated wine and beer selection. With a calming yin overdose to balance out all that dude energy, Sixby also began bringing in customers starting at 7am.

“It activated the daytime hours around here,” observes Warley. “Now you can get all three meals without leaving the block.”

But it was Sixby’s transformation of the outdoors that finally gave the odd oasis the audience they deserve. The patio seating area and standing fire provide reason to linger in the shade long after patrons have finished their food and beverages. During the evenings, when Tybee Salt Bomb oysters are served on ice from Sixby’s twee retro truck, Perry fairy lights twinkle with a charming innocence over once overlooked prime real estate.

The brothers in business took note, expanding the outdoor offerings by building out a wooden screen behind Sixby. The versatile space has already hosted First Friday music, Fourth of July festivities, Valentine’s Day speed dating, and after January’s freak weather event, an enthusiastic snowball fight.

The village square atmosphere attracts customers from all the different venues and beyond, solidifying the spot under the oaks as a multigenerational, multi flavored cultural community. The common area also serves as a hub for what is becoming a legitimate business district.

“We’re all marching to the beat of a different drummer, and we all respect each other,” muses Gadski. “We’re trying to be a drumline, and we’re getting the rhythm.” That doesn’t mean they’re looking to bring downtown to Tybee. Each of the proprietors expressed intentions to prioritize locals and neighbors in mind as they fine tune their vision. Though Lone Wolf’s recent James Beard nomination will certainly put it on every drive menu radar, the idea is to keep it tranquil and eclectic.

Multi Generational Multi Flavored
Cultural Community

“This is some of the last ‘Old Savannah’ there is,” notes Risley. ‘We inherited a level of responsibility for the neighborhood and want to honor that.

Echoes Moody: “We don’t want to mess with what we’ve got going on.”

Perhaps that’s why they’re all reluctant to give the street scene an official name. After all it’s too far east of Bull Street to be Starland, and too west of Habersham for Baldwin Park, and ‘Lincoln Park’ evokes 90s era grunge rock.

Also, the area has not yet achieved its final form. Cute Tomatoes artist studio and Maz Paz counseling practice have just moved in further down the block, and the Switchyards work club has transformed one half of the massive warehouse formerly inhabited by Decker Box.

“Maybe the area doesn’t need a title,” shrugs Warley.

Those who cherish Old Savannah might agree.

Anyone looking to brand what will inevitably become Savannah’s new hotspot will not.

To the ancient oaks lording over the block, it probably doesn’t matter at all. They’ll just keep serving up to the sky, shading the world beneath their canopy.