Another unique, eclectic business has opened on Charleston’s East End.

East End Main Street and the Charleston Area Alliance are joining Salon Indigo – which offers massages, pedicures, manicures and haircuts – to host a ribbon cutting at 5 p.m. Aug. 31.

Mayor Danny Jones is scheduled to attend the event, which will showcase the remodeled and renovated facility at 1587 Washington St. East.

“I have always envisioned having my own business and wanted a location that was both diverse and artsy,” said Salon Indigo owner Stephanie Reese. “I would drive up and down Washington Street looking for potential locations, and I chose this one because I love that it’s an old, historic home. It has charm.

“I designed the salon with a modern edge, but this house is more than 100 years old,” Reese continued. “I wanted to add spice with modern fixtures within a historic space.”

Salon Indigo is a “neighborhood business that offers the amenities of an urban city,” Reese said. It offers quality products and focuses on plant-based ingredients for hair and skin care.

Reese said the salon is perfect for lunch-hour visits.

“We live in a busy world, and it’s important for my customers to save time,” she said. “I want to offer specialized services for Capitol workers. That’s the convenience of running a business on the East End. We are fortunate to have so much in one neighborhood.”

Salon Indigo will provide wine and hors d’oeuvres for the ribbon cutting.

Charleston’s East End would support a new grocery store, according to an East End Main Street feasibility study.

The East End, the market analysis says, is missing out on between $7 million and $10 million in revenue – a conservative estimate – by not having a full-service grocery store. A 20,000- to 25,000-square-foot store would be successful in the area.

“The grocery store idea has been a part of our outlook for quite some time,” said Ric Cavender, EEMS program director. “This analysis has confirmed residents’ desire to have a store on the East End, and now we can explore ways to make that happen.”

East End Main Street and its parent organization, the Charleston Area Alliance, today released the results of the feasibility study, conducted by the CLUE group out of Washington, DC and Urban Development Services out of San Antonio, Texas. EEMS hosted a public presentation Monday evening to announce the findings.

The EEMS Grocery Store Task Force this year hired Scott Day of Urban Development Services and Josh Bloom of CLUE to conduct neighborhood surveys and study buying patterns. The methodology included competitive analysis of existing food stores, analysis of sales potential, focus groups, assessment of potential sites, research on potential recruitment and consumer surveys. More than 800 people participated in surveys.

“We received an overwhelming response to the surveys, which were conducted both online and door-to-door,” Cavender said. “The consultants evaluated price points across the Charleston Metro region, buying power of the East End residents and shopping habits. This is a well-rounded, extensive study, and we are confident in the conclusions.”

At one time, the East End was home to two grocery stores, but both had closed by 2001. Foodland on Bigley Avenue and Capitol Market now are the nearest options.

“We’ve heard the demand for years,” said Alliance President and CEO Matt Ballard. “We hear about the need every day. This new data confirms it. A grocery store would be a boon for the East End economy and could spur growth in the area.”

According to the analysis, about 75 percent of grocery shopping trips made by East End residents are to stores outside of the East End area. It concludes many residents would opt to shop at East End stores, meaning current buying power justifies pursuing at least one grocery store for the region.

Several parcels in the area would be optimal sites for a store that serves the whole East End neighborhood and is walk-able for most East End residents and area employees, the study says. It suggests recruiting a “niche chain” grocery store and/or a business focused on organic foods.

“Because these two grocery stores concepts would be addressing different audiences, the two stores could be pursued separately or simultaneously,” the study says. (more…)

East End Main Street wants to share the results of a recent grocery store feasibility study with the public.

The EEMS Grocery Store Task Force hired Scott Day of Urban Development Services in San Antonio, Texas, and Josh Blood of CLUE Group in Washington, D.C., to conduct a district- and city-wide study and market analysis for a grocery store on Charleston’s East End.

They will present their findings at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 23 at the Charleston Area Alliance, 1116 Smith St.

The public is invited to attend the presentation. Those interested in attending should RSVP no later than 10 a.m. Aug. 23 to DCoffman@CharlestonAreaAlliance.org.

Questions? Contact EEMS Program Director Ric Cavender at RCavender@CharlestonAreaAlliance.org or (304) 340-4253.

East End Main Street is conducting a feasibility study for a grocery store in the East End business district through the services of the CLUE group out of Washington, DC and Urban Development Services out of San Antonio, Texas.

The groups last week conducted a pair of focus groups for East End residents, but EEMS still welcomes information and insight regarding a grocery store.

Those unable to participate in the focus groups are invited to visit www.surveymonkey.com/s/TWW59TP and take a short survey by July 31.

“We want as much input as possible,” said EEMS Program Director Ric Cavender. “If an East End grocery store becomes a reality, we want it to serve the entire community. Therefore, we want feedback from the entire community.”

What kind of grocery store does the East End need? We need your input.
 
East End Main Street is conducting a feasibility study for a grocery store in the East End business district through the services of the CLUE group out of Washington, DC and Urban Development Services out of San Antonio, Texas.
 
These organizations will be conducting two separate focus groups for East End residents at 8:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. Thursday at the Charleston Area Alliance. 
 
If you want to contribute information and insight during these very important focus group sessions, please contact Ric Cavender, EEMS Program Director, at (304) 340-4253 or RCavender@CharlestonAreaAlliance.org.

East End Main Street is hosting the second annual Warehouse Warm-Up, a district-wide retail promotion showcasing the eclectic mix of retail establishments in the Warehouse District. 

From July 17 to 31, 12 Warehouse District merchants will be offering discounts of their choice to all patrons. EEMS is providing “Warm-Up Walk Cards” for each participating merchant to distribute to customers taking advantage of the discounts. If a patron can collect at least five sets of initials from associates at any of the participating merchants, they can enter to win Warehouse District prize packs. 

The Warehouse Warm-Up will kick off at the third annual Charlie West Blues Fest at Applachian Power Park at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, July 17. The Blues Fest will bring together some of the biggest names in blues music and promises to be a fun event for all ages. Visit www.wvbluessociety.com for more information. 

“The purpose of the Warehouse Warm-Up is to showcase the great mix of businesses that are all located in Charleston warehouses and give the public an incentive to buy local and think of small business first,” said Ric Cavender, East End Main Street program director. “We have 12 unique, successful and historic Warehouse District businesses participating in this year’s Warm-Up. I encourage everyone to come out and participate in this two-week long event.”

The Warehouse Warm-Up also will mark the unveiling of the new East End Warehouse District logo, a result of a community re-branding consultation EEMS received earlier this year. 

“We have a unique building stock in this district of the East End and want to showcase and brand it accordingly,” Cavender said. “With all of the improvements that have occurred over the past decade in the Warehouse District, we felt it was time help give the businesses the recognition they deserve. This is the first step in a long series of improvements that are yet to come.” 

The Warehouse District businesses participating in the Warm-Up are:

• Kyle Furniture – 1352 Hansford Street – 10% off all merchandise
• Contemporary Galleries – 1210 Smith Street – 20% off all in-stock merchandise and special orders of furniture
• ESC Carpets & More – 1206 Smith Street – 10% off all merchandise
• Enterprise Rent-A-Car – 1115 Smith Street – 10% off all car rentals
• West Virginia Power – 1 free game ticket with a completed Warehouse Warm-Up Walk Card (minimum collection of 5 sets of initals)
• Pugh Furniture – 1320 Smith Street – Discount equal to amount of sales tax (minimum purchase of $499)
• Valley Gardens – 1109 Piedmont Road – 50% off all 6” annuals, Buy 3 flowering shrubs, get 1 free
• Habitat for Humanity ReStore – 301 Piedmont Road – 20% off one transaction
• Ferguson Enterprises – 160 Spring Street – Additional 25% off all lighting purchases
• Capitol Roasters at the Capitol Market – 20% off all beverages
• The Purple Onion at the Capitol Market – Buy one salad, get second salad 50% off
• Johnnie’s Meat Market at the Capitol Market – Buy 1 pound of ground chuck, get another pound for $1.

Warm-Up Walk Cards will be available at every participating vendor, and patrons must purchase something to receive them. Once they have collected at least five sets of initials, they can submit them to any participating Warehouse Warm-Up merchant. 

For more information on the Warm-Up, go to www.eastendmainstreet.com or contact Ric Cavender at (304) 340-4253 or RCavender@CharlestonAreaAlliance.org.

East End Main Street would like to congratulate the volunteers and businesses honored recently during the annual Main Street West Virginia Volunteer & Innovation Awards.

Advisory Board Member of the Year
David Epp

Business Person/Business of the Year
Keeley and Jonathan Steele, Trick Fish

Elected Official of the Year
Councilman Marc Weintraub 

Volunteer of the Year
Amy McLaughlin

Gov. Joe Manchin presented the awards June 23 at the Governor’s Mansion.

We are proud of these volunteers and businesses. They are essential to the success of organizations such as EEMS, and they are helping drive the destiny of our region.

The article below appears in today’s Charleston Daily Mail.

By Monica Orosz
Daily Mail staff

Last year, local artists teamed up to create a series of flags that now grace light poles in the East End. This year, local artists are at it again, but they want you to look down instead.

Twenty-five artists created pieces that are being transferred onto bricks. Once fired to seal the images, the bricks will be laid along sidewalks in a two-block area of Washington Street East. The project was timed to be unveiled during this week’s FestivALL, which officially starts Friday.

“The banners we hung last year are very visual to drivers,” said Ric Cavender, program director for East End Main Street, sponsor of the project. “This year, we are promoting walking through the East End.”

An East End Main Street committee began discussing the project earlier this year, said Charleston graphic artist and designer Mark Wolfe. When the committee hit upon the idea of decorative bricks, the next step was figuring out just how to get an artist’s image from paper or other medium to brick. Wolfe said they considered etching, but were concerned that details might be lost in the process.

And here’s where West Side met East End in a collaboration of problem solving. The committee contacted Karen and Mike Garnes, owners of Capitol Clay Arts Co. on the West Side. The Garneses, in turn, consulted with local potter Eric Pardue, whose clay pieces often incorporate detailed artwork. Pardue suggested a process where the artwork would be scanned and the image transferred via laser printer to special transfer paper.

Wolfe practiced the process of scanning and manipulating the images in Photoshop, converting them to black and white if necessary, adding the East End Main Street logo and then printing the images in reverse. Mike Garnes took over the next step, figuring out the best way to transfer the images to 4-inch by 8-inch clay bricks he made in the shop and then firing them to “seal” the image on the bricks.

The final firing maintains the clarity of the artwork and turns it a sepia tone.

“The laser toner that the HP printer uses has iron oxide in it,” Garnes explained. “So when all of the (transfer paper plastic) burns off, you’re left with the iron oxide.” (more…)