By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw
WINONA LAKE — The town of Winona Lake has a new stash of small businesses overlooking the lake, but it’s not in the renowned Village at Winona.
Eight stores are now formally part of Winona Live, a reconfigured collection of retail operations inside what has been known for decades as Carpet Depot Interiors, adjacent to the roundabout and Kings Highway.
Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce celebrated the unofficial opening of the mini-mall Thursday with what was likely the biggest collection of ribbon cutting events the community has ever seen in one afternoon.
The transition developed over a series of months as Carpet Depot owner Judy Ness eventually signed contracts with a series of companies, most notably a new book store, The Word House, and the Three Crowns Coffee, which marks its second location (the other is on North Detroit Street in Warsaw).
Other businesses include Bailey’s Studio, Lacie Fouts Photography, Wittenberger Fouts Insurance, Stryker Lawn Service, and Adventure Co. Travel Service.
Carpet Depot Interiors continues to use the building as well.
“Once we signed the contracts, it’s been a whirlwind,” Ness said.
Ness took the name from an upscale mini-mall with restaurants and shops known as Texas Live, located next to AT&T Stadium (Home of the Dallas Cowboy) in Austin, Texas, where she saw it while visiting one of her sons.
The struck quickly.
“I just loved the vibe that you felt when there,” she said. “Thinking about what we would call the building — instantly — ‘Winona Live’ because I love our community, I love what we have here and just pulling the businesses together and working together, I love that.”
Interior renovations are still under way to provide more showroom space for the interiors business and new restrooms to accomodate more employees and customers.
Ness said she came up with the plan for a while, sought out vendors and then began renovations. “Since we signed the contracts, it’s been a whirlwind,” she said.
One large ribbon-cutting was held with all eight store owners, their families and chamber officials. The chamber added five chamber members as a result of the changes and held a handful of ribbon cuttings for those.
A ribbon cutting was not held for Three Crowns because the owner was unavailable.
The Word House offers a wide variety of new and used books.
The 22-year-old owner of the The Word House is Sarah Wordhouse (really!) who moved a year ago from Grand Rapids, Mich. She’s friends with Obadiah Clemans, owner of Three Crowns, and said they agreed to encourage shoppers to bring coffee drinks upstairs to the bookstore.
“That’s the goal is that people will buy their food, buy coffee, come up here, hang out. I want it to be a community space,” Wordhouse said.
Chamber President Rob Parker said the melding of small businesses in one location, while not unheard of, is rare in the community.
The coffee shop has a wide open view of the lake.
“I think it will be extremely successful. It’s just a wonderful location and wonderful business model,” Parker said.
Off-street parking is along Kings Highway and east of the stores.
An official grand opening is scheduled for Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
