Savor the Flavor

This building, The Flint Restaurant is so much more than meets the eye.  It is an architectural wonder-a building whose elements of design capture a viewer's attention.  It is the crown jewel of the effort to return downtown Albany to the prominence it once enjoyed.  And, it is a place where people's hunger for good food is satisfied.

The Flint is also the culmination of a family's dream, a dream conceived, nurtured and realized by the Singfield family; Glenn, Tandra, Glenn II and Gerard.

When City of Albany officials approached the Singfields about expanding their culinary success with the opening of their Albany Fish Company restaurant in the western sector of the city, to become the linchpin of efforts to redevelop downtown Albany, those officials go way more than they'd bargained for.  The Singfields had determined that The Flint would not be just another place to eat. 

"When we looked at this building, we looked beyond the walls, beyond the disrepair, beyond the obvious obstacles that might stand in the way." patriarch Glenn Sr. said, "We looked at the history; the government agencies, the auto dealership, the business, the old cotton warehouse...all that had once occupied this space.  But we took it a step further, all the way back to the Creek Indians who first settled this land.  That became our vision."

When the Singfield family decided to move forward with that vision, the undertaking was daunting.  It would have been thus in any case, given the age and condition of the structure, but it became even more so when Glenn Sr., the builder in the family, decided he wanted to tie all of the elements that were components of the southwest Georgia city he and his family had grown to love into this structure, to give it life that was uniquely Albany.

And even with the exacting elements that Tandra, Glenn II - the estimable "Chef G" - whose culinary skills have become the stuff of legends, and Gerard, the youngest of the brother insisted be part of the building design, Glenn Sr.'s masterplan became as much a part of Albany's DNA as the nearby river whose name it shares. 

With refinement and improvements, the original wood that was part of the building was repurposed and utilized.  The concrete floors were ground down to reveal the river rock taken directly from the Flint River and used in the original construction.  Local materials were used to turn The Flint into the Singfield's vision, and local artisians, craftsmen and builders brought their talents and skills to the task of recreating this building into a place where past and present come together to create a space that is uniquely Albany.

With demolition, infrastucture upgrades, abatement and restoration completed, the Singfield family doubled down on their quest to showcase their city by filling the walls with works by local artists, including mounted animals that were harvested from land surrounding the Flint River.  All of this took place, since the restaurant's April 1, 2018 opening, under the watchful eye of Tandra, whose concern for detail is apparent.  "She's the glue that holds eveything together, "And she truly loves this place." Glenn Sr. said."

So, as you enjoy one of Chef G's sumptuous culinary creations or just relax with a drink at the bar in the home-away-from-home atmosphere of The Flint, soak up its rich history.  Look around at the elements that make this former cotton warehouse the welcoming fulfillment of a family's vision.  And you'll realize along with the Singfield family that some dreams actually do come true.