Ash Grove’s Main Street evolves, revolves

Incoming, outgoing businesses keep small town downtown in transition
 
Businesses located on Ash Grove’s Main Street are in the process of making some big changes. Three businesses plan to overhaul their buildings and/or operations, and at least one new business has opened its doors.

The Tin Ceiling adding an outdoor venue
About a year after they opened for business, the Tin Ceiling now has plans to expand their venue by adding an outdoor space.
“We purchased some additional property and plan to have an open air walled urban garden style space that lends to both an industrial modern aesthetic as well as keeping with our historic roots on Main Street,” said owner Cassy Ballard. “It can be rented for weddings and community events.”
Ballard said they hope to have the outdoor space ready by this summer, and people booking a wedding at the Tin Ceiling can use it along with the indoor venue, provided that the outdoor space is ready in time.
“We are actually offering the outdoor space with no additional cost for any weddings booked now,” she said. “We aren't guaranteeing a specific date, but … if it's done, you can use it.”

Shine, Inc. renovates building to open more rooms
Aimee Gerla started Shine, Inc. so that teens who could not afford formal to purchase formal attire for prom could have a dress or tuxedo to wear. However, the boutique has received so many donations of formal dresses, they needed more room to house them.
“The more people heard about what we do, the more donations we got from individuals and … prom attire companies such as MK Bridal and Norman’s Bridal,” she said. “School counselors and friends started spreading the word and we needed to start renovating more rooms for our Shine Inc. boutique to hold the number of dresses we now have to offer to students.”
Local businesses pitched in to help with the renovations. Legacy Mechanical wired Shine, Inc.’s new backroom, and charged nothing for the labor, while Cornerstone Painters painted the new room for free. Hoods Service Center donated propane to heat the boutique, and Gerla said that Stuart Coutchie donated the entire boutique to her for $1 a year, while never asking to pay for electricity or utilities.
The renovations, Gerla said, now allow Shine, Inc. to help more people at once.
“We now have three rooms and three separate dressing rooms,” she said. “This allows more families to come and look for a dress at the same time.”

Odds and Endtables plans to reopen with new vibe
Odds and Endtables antique store temporarily closed their doors on Oct. 2. Owner Brian Evans said it was to make changes to make the business something more to their liking.
“It had gotten away from what we wanted it to be,” he said. “We don't want to be thought of as a thrift store or flea market, but it was getting that vibe. Nothing (is) wrong with either of those types of stores, (it’s) just not the atmosphere we're going for.”
As part of the overhaul process, Evans said, they held an auction to liquidate most of their inventory. What couldn’t be sold was then either donated elsewhere or thrown away. Now they plan for a soft re-opening on March 1, to be followed by a grand re-opening in April or May, during which they also plan to hold a food drive for the Ash Grove Food Pantry.
Evans added that when Odds and Endtables reopens, customers will like what they see, because there will be a golf simulator and arcade games, as well as some high-grade items for sale.
“We are passionate about providing awesome buys to our community and anyone who stops in,” he said. “You will see that in our store with the quality of merchandise we have and the prices you pay. We will continue to offer a wide variety of things you can't live without, with more of a focus in furniture than before.”

The Modern Homestead – Mercantile and Homegoods opens its doors
The Modern Homestead – Mercantile and Homegoods opened for business last month. Owner Ronessa Williams said she opened the business to create an attraction to draw visitors to Main Street.
“It gives Ash Grove another little stop area for more foot traffic and Main Street another mercantile store,” she said.
The store currently carries mostly home décor and gift items. Williams said she is still working out what inventory the store will carry.
“We’re trying to figure out what sort of things will be our most popular,” she said. “We’re still trying to get a grasp of what inventory is going to be the most sought after.”
Williams added that she is hoping to have a grand opening for the boutique in March.

Ash Grove City Museum building
Dolores Coble, owner of Mama Loca’s Cafe and Cantina, purchased the Ash Grove City Museum Building last fall after submitting the winning bid of $21,550. At present, it is not clear what Coble plans to do with the building; she did not respond to a request for comment as of press time.

Queen Bee Floral and Gifts
Queen Bee Floral and Gifts, located on the northeast corner of Main and Calhoun, closed their doors in December after the owner retired. Attempts to reach the owner for further comment were unsuccessful as of press time.