Mall awash in variety
Former car wash home to shops, take-out restaurant planned
Springing up from the remains of an old car wash, Cocolala Court, 1006 First St., is a new strip mall in Cheney, one that owner Natasha Jernegan hopes will help foster new businesses and create a nice atmosphere for residents to spend time and enjoy themselves.
Jernegan first set up her office as a certified public accountant in the building in November 2005 when there was still a car wash on the other side of the building. When the car wash closed, she decided to buy the building and renovate for other businesses to move in and grow. She is charging the other tenants as little as she can to cover her mortgage, and on a month-to-month basis, so they don’t have to get stuck with a long-term lease if the business doesn’t work out.
“It’s an experiment,” Jernegan said. She said she took a business class at Eastern Washington University that taught if you were going to set up a building you should charge tenants as much for rent as the market could bear. She thought that charging a lower rent would help the businesses prosper, so there wouldn’t be much benefit to her if the other businesses failed.
One of the first businesses to move in was Picture Perfect, a custom framing shop owned by sisters Melissa and Elizabeth Baker.
“People come in and they can see me working,” Melissa Baker said.
This is the fourth year the shop has been operating, but the sisters recently moved it to Cocolala Court. Melissa Baker said in their old location, people found out about them mostly by word-of-mouth. Now that they’ve moved, their business is more visible.
Along with the frames, the Bakers get a chance to display their own artwork and that of others on the walls of their shop and in the gallery at the end of the building.
The gallery, which features works from local artists, is part of the shop run by Christine Brouillette, the Emporium.
The Emporium has an eclectic mix of vintage ball gowns, antiques and equestrian equipment.
“It’s for ladies,” Brouillette said.
Brouillette said she wanted a shop where women could find what they need to ride horses, citing the rural community around Cheney and the polo club in Airway Heights. After the women are done riding for the day, if they plan to attend a social event, there is something there for them as well.
“There’s just sort of something for everybody,” Jernegan said of The Emporium.
The gallery at Cocolala Court will hold an exhibit of the work of photographer Michael Ault, a Cheney firefighter, April 24 from 4 to 8 p.m. Along with the exhibit, the other stores will hold open houses.
Coming soon in the shopping center will be A Touch of Grace, a soul food store run by Gayla Wright.
The area isn’t zoned for a sit-down restaurant, so the food will be take-out only, but there is a patio at the front of the store where Jernegan hopes customers will sit and enjoy their lunch.
Jernegan said she hopes the last space available would be rented by a gourmet tea and coffee shop.
“If I had Southern cooking and coffee, I’d never have to leave work,” she said.
Although the building’s history was a car wash, Jernegan and Brouillette are looking toward the future of Cocolala Court instead of making a big deal out of its roots.
They hope that since the businesses help each other with cross-promotion, the experiment will be a success.
“I think that is what’ll get us through the tough times,” Jernegan said.