Two iconic neon frogs reappeared Thursday afternoon in downtown Chattanooga.
The frogs went back up - after a repair job that took about three years - on the Ellis Restaurant sign at 1443 Market St. across from the Chattanooga Choo Choo hotel.
The neon won't shine for a while, though. Scott Coffey, who owns the long-vacant restaurant space, says more work needs to be done, and that he's mainly used "sweat equity" to get this far.
"I am not a wealthy man. If I were, the sign would have been done 25 years ago," said Coffey, who bought the burned-out restaurant building in 1989 mainly because he liked the sign - and wants to preserve it.
Coffey hopes to get grant money to finish the sign's restoration with help from Chattanooga's historic preservation group, Cornerstones.
"What I'm hoping is after I get these frogs up here that the rest of it will be easier to fall in place," he said.
Local artist Barry Snyder, who has experience restoring neon signs, redid the two frogs that went back up Thursday.
"He's the man," Coffey said. "He's the one that painted the frogs. And he's the one that sent me to school on neon signs."
In its heyday, the Ellis Restaurant sign blazed in Art Deco glory. A green neon frog - advertising the restaurant's frog legs - jumped over such neon-lit menu items as "steaks," "chops" and "spaghetti." The words "Ellis Restaurant" stood out in red neon surrounded by almost 600 white incandescent bulbs.
Like moths drawn to a flame, local diners and out-of-town luminaries - including heavyweight boxing champ Jack Dempsey and pro football quarterback Joe Namath - ate at the Ellis Restaurant, which closed in the late 1970s.
The return of the neon frogs got a thumbs up from The River City Company, a private nonprofit organization that advocates for a "vibrant and healthy downtown."
"Oh, that's awesome," said River City's spokeswoman Amy Donahue. "Preserving pieces of downtown's history, and those signs, adds a lot of character to the area."
She didn't find fault with the time it's taken to restore the sign.
"We understand that folks, for a variety of reasons, can't always move very quickly," Donahue said.
Contact staff writer Tim Omarzu at tomarzu@timesfreepress.com or www.facebook.com/MeetsForBusiness or on Twitter @meetfor business or 423-757-6651.