Photo courtesy Mark Taylor PhotoImages

In the fast-changing Downtown scene, carefully preserved buildings like the Bayless Grocery & Market No. 7 help time stand still.

The red brick building near Seventh and Roosevelt streets opened in 1926 to rave reviews as the city’s largest and most state-of-the-art grocery store. Today, it buzzes with a mix of tenants and a hip co-working space.

Real estate broker Joseph Lewis bought the building, and the costume shop inside, 20 years ago. “It was in pretty bad shape, all boarded up, all small dark rooms inside,” he recalls.

But Lewis saw potential. He got it listed on the National Register of Historic Places and, about three years ago, restored it with some financial help from the city. “I knew it had good bones,” Lewis says.

It also has a good story. Grocer J.B. Bayless opened his first Downtown store here but sold the business after the stock market crash of 1929. His son A.J. later entered the grocery industry, building an empire that Bashas’ eventually bought out.

When store No. 7 opened, The Arizona Republican newspaper raved about the 15-foot-high ceilings, large windows along the storefront and the building’s extensive refrigeration plant. The self-service store, which sprawled over 8,000 square feet, had 20 employees at the ready, ample parking, food demonstrations, after-hours deli and dairy service, and more.

Today, the building houses a gym, graphic designer, commercial photography studio and CO+HOOTS, a co-working space that hosted a grand opening in early July. The building was fully leased at press time.