Rivet House offers a new dining and upscale hotel experience in the Classic City.

The national couple James and Jessica Whitley acquired an old textile factory in Athens, where people once worked creating denim clothing, and transformed it into a venue that today serves as a place for dining and relaxation in a luxurious setting. The unique project, known as Rivet House, opened its doors on Friday as part of Southern Mill on Oneta Street, in an area that has recently experienced a resurgence in business and entrepreneurship. In addition to 50 hotel rooms, the Rivet House space includes a restaurant and bar, Osteria Olio, and a spa offering a variety of health and beauty services will soon be operational here.“We are bringing to Athens something that has never been here, in our opinion.”— noted James Whitley. Although there are hotels in Athens,“but there isn’t a single luxury boutique hotel”James, who graduated from Ononi County High School in 1997, added.

Jessica, a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and James started dating in 2009 and after their wedding, they settled in Athens. He graduated from the University of Georgia, while Jessica earned degrees from both UGA and LSU. They both work in real estate in Athens and at The Reserve at Lake Keowee in South Carolina.

Nevertheless, the abandoned building, which has long lost its purpose, poses certain challenges.“You never know what to expect in such old buildings. Structurally, the outer walls were quite sturdy, but the roof had collapsed in several places.”“he noted.”“We wanted to preserve as much as possible, and we managed to retain about 65% of the original beams and structure.”.“It was an interesting challenge to decide what to keep and what to remove. We didn’t want to just demolish the building.”“,” added Jessica, who is also a designer and artist.

Some original elements, such as the elevator doors, have remained untouched, and each of the rooms has its own unique character.She noted that some of the beams and bricks that had to be removed were repurposed into accent elements.“This makes the building much more charming.”“,” she said, adding:“We wanted everyone to feel respect for what had been created before.”The couple aimed to make Rivet House a unique place for Athens.“You are in Athens, but you could be in New York or Europe.”“She noticed.”“It’s very important for me and James that this becomes something beneficial for Athens. Let’s create an amazing place that locals will want to visit and share with tourists.”.

The menu of the restaurant, featuring modern Italian dishes at Osteria Olio,“amazing”Jessica added, noting that it has already been appreciated by other representatives of the culinary field.“There’s an amazing bar there, so you can stop by for a drink.”“She added, mentioning the courtyard that is connected to the restaurant. During the construction work, the couple used local specialists for architectural design and building.”“I was very passionate about bringing in workers and artists from Athens for all the details and spaces.”, she concluded.