In 1968, the Ford Body Company built a grouping of pre-engineered metal buildings on the side of a quiet road in Greensboro. Years passed and the retirement of 3rd generation owner Lynn Ford marked an end to this stalwart Greensboro company. Today, Battleground Avenue is a thriving 6-lane thoroughfare. The owners of Mac’s Speed Shop saw this blue-collar edifice and knew it could be a temple honoring the past while entertaining today’s BBQ-loving gearheads.

The project exposes the simple beauty of an under-appreciated, spartan building type. Painted steel cladding peeled away to expose the red oxide structure. The original 15,560 square-foot structure was distilled to 5,245 square feet of interior space and 2,962 of covered exterior. The old paint booth became the kitchen. The building’s structure and materials have been re-purposed, with original steel fabrication evident throughout. Windows, furniture, signage armatures, and the entry door are all site-fabricated and the stacked dimes of a skilled welder are ever-evident.
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Completed: 2016