The Brass Idol restaurant in Gary's Miller Beach district celebrated its opening Sept. 13 with a ribbon cutting.

Mayor Eddie Melton and Gary Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Chuck Hughes were on hand for the event.

Owner Sam Geraci restored the 100-year-old building that once was a Texaco gas station.

“This is a passion project,” said Sam Geraci, co-owner of The Brass Idol, in a press release.

Geraci, who is a former teacher and now real estate agent, assembled a team that spent seven years transforming the building at 5900 Miller Ave.

“We wanted to bring the industrial chic elements that are so popular in San Diego and Chicago to the city,” he said.

Geraci said a friend's restaurant in San Diego was the model for the restoration.

“We just needed to restore and preserve,” he said.

Although, the project wasn't as simple as he makes it sound.

“Renovating a 100-year-old gas station is like peeling back layers of a very complicated and expensive onion,” joked Steve Stepanek, co-owner and co-developer of The Brass Idol.

The paperwork to open the restaurant wasn't easy either.

“We worked through licensing, permitting, staffing, funding, training, developing new menus, losing a chef and more,” Stepanek said.

Lifelong Miller resident Bob Joppek remembers the building when it was a service station.

“I used to fix tires there as a kid,” he said. “It’s incredible to see it come alive again. I was overwhelmed eating a real ribeye in Gary, where I used to work.”

The restaurant's menu features a mix of flavors from the South, East Coast and Florida, including shrimp and grits, the “diner burger,” and loaded crab fries. About 80 people can dine at a time. It also has a full bar and patio with games for young and old alike.

The Brass Idol officially opened in July.