Fellrath Building

In the days of buggies, horses, and gun-toting men, this building was born. Constructed of native brick and featuring round arched doors and a corbeled brick cornice at the roofline, the Fellrath Building served a variety of businesses in early-day Belton. Today it is a coffeehouse especially popular with the college crowd.

The first phase of this building, the Beamer Brick wall on the south side, was built by the J. Z. Miller Sr. family in 1881 as part of the adjacent building. At that time, half of the wall was given to J. M. Spencer, at no charge, with the stipulation that he would pay for half of the stone in the event he built an adjacent structure. Sometime between 1881 and 1890, Spencer paid the Miller estate $300 for his share.

Mr. Spencer had a livery stable prior to construction of this building, and in 1900 the buggy sales department of Smith & Peyton Hardware and Buggy Store was housed here. It is assumed that Mr. Spencer rented space to Smith & Peyton. Records show that the Belton National Bank owned the building for a short time in those years as indicated by the presence of "Thomas Yarrell" and the year "1891" painted on the rear of the building. Yarrell owned several banks and speculation is that he considered locating a bank in the building.

In 1905, E. R. Everett brought the building and operated Everett Grain Company until his death in 1912. Apparently the building was vacant until 1914 when John R. Fellrath bought it and opened a Tin & Plumbing Shop. John Fellrath was a prominent community leader and continued as owner of the building until his death in 1961. Eddie Saski bought the Fellrath business and operated a plumbing business until his retirement in 1983.

Shortly after, Judy Heartfield and Marion Bryan purchased the property, and when the building was renovated, it opened under the name The Judges Chambers. Aside from necessary interior changes to create a functional restaurant, structural changes were negligible. The two center doors are the original doors made for the building. The floor on the main level and the ceiling are original to the building. The white brick used for construction was produced by the Belton Brick Yard, owned and operated by W. F. Beamer. All window frames are hand-milled, and are exactly the same size. 

During its life, the building also housed two coffee shops. The Heidenheimer Coffee Company was in business for about 15 years. When the coffee company closed, the building sat unused and fell into decay. Hatem Chouchane from Tunisia purchased the building and made repairs to the electrical system, roof, and plumbing. What emerged in the summer of 2012 was Arusha Coffee and Tea.

Sources

Belton Homes Tour, 1984.