A growing cluster of downtown property acquisitions by the locally-based Maddox Industrial Transformer’s affiliated Battle Ground Hospitality Group (BGHC) have fueled interest online after its newest Old Town land purchase.
After a Reflector interview was already scheduled to learn updates about BGHC’s endeavors with Max Booth, community engagement and development manager for Maddox Industrial Transformer, news broke on social media that the group had purchased the Main Street Bar property.
The Main Street Bar is located at 805 E. Main St. in Battle Ground.
The BGHC umbrella already featured Al and Ernie’s Bakery Cafe, the Battle Ground Farmers Market and Tuke’s Taphouse, which was acquired in January. It may soon have a new arm in an endeavor to-be-determined at the Main Street Bar property.
“Word’s already gotten out, so I’m going to share this: We’re under contract on the Main Street Bar property,” Booth confirmed. “We were approached by the owner of that place, and he wanted to get out. … I’m not on Facebook, really, so I was informed by somebody else. So yeah, the cat’s got out of the bag on that one.”
A Main Street Bar Facebook post stated that the building — originally a movie theater before it became a bar of many names — “has a bright future but no longer a bar.”
“We’re going to keep the barbershop as it is, and then reconcept the bar,” Booth said. “It likely won’t be a bar again, but it will be something public-facing, serving the community.”
Concerns by community members ranged from the church project in the Battle Ground Village, to land sales, to a podcast series co-hosted by Booth.
“We view it as kind of a real small group of people who’ve got some really interesting thoughts about things,” Booth said, adding that some claims are too outrageous to take seriously.
One comment suggested the city was “bought off” by Maddox with plans to build a massive church village for “white nationalist MAGA Christians.”
“I don’t know what they mean by the city ‘bought off by Maddox.’ Bring the receipts,” Booth said. “I have no idea what they’re talking about. And nobody does. I just have no idea. … We’re building an event center and chapel. The chapel is being purpose-built to lease to a church. But the chapel will be an amenity of the event center so that there will be events at the conference center: corporate events, dinners, you name it — conferences, whatever else.”
When asked if the conference center will be open to all opportunities, Booth added that the church will have some first rights over how it is used. According to prior reporting by The Reflector, the chapel and event center are a part of a 60-acre project currently awaiting a developer’s agreement with Maddox and the city of Battle Ground just east of current Village property between Commerce Avenue and Southeast 20th Avenue.
Comments also centered on a 2023 podcast series dubbed “The Battle Ground Project.” The podcast’s audio appears to be wiped from numerous websites, but on PodBay, the podcast is described as: “The Battle Ground Project is an experiment in Christian localism. The hosts, C. R. Wiley and Max Booth live and work in Battle Ground. Through interviews they explore ways that Christians are contributing to the Battle Ground community.”
The podcast series interviewed Maddox CEO Camden Spiller, candidates for Battle Ground City Council and other individuals contributing to the community.
“We recorded a few episodes a couple of years back,” Booth said. “And, again, I’d have to go back and re-listen to them because I’m not sure how they’re linking this to any of this. Do you know what I mean? That’s a podcast with my pastor. We were interviewing people who were doing things. … We interviewed some pastors. We interviewed other business owners. We interviewed people who are running for political office.”
PodBay lists that all content of the podcast series is the property of C.R. Wiley and Booth and is served directly from their servers with no modifications, redirects or rehosting. C.R. Wiley previously ran for Battle Ground City Council in 2023, but did not make it past the primary. Wiley is listed as the senior pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Battle Ground, as well as an author of numerous books on the church’s YouTube page. The church’s Facebook page previously shared a YouTube link to detail renderings of the chapel and event center project in the Battle Ground Village.
The most common concern on Facebook comment sections over Valentine’s Day weekend were mainly surrounding Maddox owning property in the village and Old Town.
“There’s a lot of weird rumors about things that we’ve said or done in terms of buying buildings, and all of them have been very, very traditional,” Booth said, continuing to debunk rumors. “We’ve been approached by many people asking us to buy their buildings or their businesses. … So, the basic premise is, you can invest in Wall Street, or you can invest in Main Street, right? And the owners of our company have chosen Main Street. And so that’s their big thing. They’re investing in Main Street. And, so, we view opportunities like that as ways to continue to steward the awesome Main Street that we have here. We think Battle Ground’s a great place to live and it’s a great place to raise a family. And, really, everything we’re working on in the Main Street spaces boils down to continuing to make this place into a better place to live, a better place to work, a better place to raise a family.”
For Booth, the work Maddox has done to promote new business ventures in Battle Ground’s Old Town is proof of commitment to the community the company calls home. Maddox-backed presence in Old Town Battle Ground continues to generate both enthusiasm and suspicion, a dynamic portrayed with the busy atmosphere of Al and Ernie’s every day, the hype and crowds of the indoor Farmers Market space, but also with concerns stated clearly after mumblings of another property acquisition.
“There’s nothing behind the curtain to see here,” Booth said. “What we’ve done is in plain sight. We haven’t tried to obscure or make secret anything going on. We have a track record now. I mean, two years ago, we maybe didn’t. We have a track record now. Take a before and after picture of Al and Ernie’s.”
Delays with Tuke’s Taphouse reopening, other BGHC updates
Originally, after acquiring Tuke’s Taphouse at the turn of the new year, the plan by BGHC was to operate as normal, make some upgrades, and celebrate a grand reopening in the springtime.
Now, Booth said the stars are aligning to celebrate the grand reopening after upgrades; but the next steps are in the hands of the health department.
Unbenounced to new ownership, health permits do not transfer over, Booth said.
“You have to apply for a new one,” he added. “And they told us, ‘Oh, it’s really simple. You already have an approved health plan. Submit the paperwork. And because you already have an approved plan, it’ll be easy to approve again.’ Great. What they didn’t tell us was that your new application goes in the pile with all the other ones.”
Booth said that as of mid-January, BGHC was notified it could be weeks before the application process is completed.
With a few minor changes, such as upgraded furniture and new decor, as well as the major change being ownership, Booth said it will be the same Tuke’s when it welcomes customers back.
“It’ll be Tuke’s as you’ve known it,” he confirmed.
The Hospitality Collective also oversees event planning and management that may take place at its venues, Booth said. He added that the BGHC website, bghospitality.org, along with business websites and social media, will be the best locations to find out more information about upcoming events under the collective.
Another vision being imagined rests at the corner of Southeast First Street and Clark Avenue, as a remodeled residential unit is currently in the process for a land use decision to convert to a retail space. The location is detailed on the Battle Ground Active Development map as “Spurgeon’s Pipe and Cigar Shop.”
Booth said that he may plan on pursuing frontage improvements at the location for new sidewalks on its intersection-facing corner before it actually converts from residential to commercial.
Booth said he and Maddox are also in collaboration with the city of Battle Ground to improve the Old Town Subarea, as he was invited by the city to serve on the Old Town Revitalization committee.
“We’re people who have an investment and a stake in the game,” he added. “And so the city aims at getting people like that on the boards. Who’s actually running a business downtown? Who actually owns the property downtown? You know, who’s managing a business downtown? And get their voices in that process. … There’s the accusation that we’re after something for our own interest. Well, the way that works is what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. It’s a rising tide that lifts all the boats. And so, we are hoping that our investment in Main Street actually attracts other investments.”
