EXCHANGE: Kokomo's new entrepreneurs fill niche markets
KOKOMO, Ind. (AP) - As Kyle Gibson fixes a craft cocktail for a customer, all of the telltale signs surround him.
The bar is created from oxidized sheet metal he discovered in Hunt's Salvage & Coal Yards. Artwork that covers the walls was constructed by himself from materials like old saws he picked out from The Original Treasure Mart. The wall facing him is filled with signatures from patrons, equipped with a small chalk board relaying the message: "You are weird, embrace it."
Customers engage each other in conversation about the interesting snack combinations on the menu including locally-sourced deviled eggs, as the indie rock band Spoon's "Don't Make me a Target" plays in the background.
The bar Gibson operates, The Coterie, is the poster child of Kokomo's recent influx of younger business owners: a hip gathering spot, appealing to millennials and dripping with personality and attention to detail - much like the craft cocktails that fill the menu.
After a stint at Marian University, Gibson, who was raised in Sharpsville, jokes he became a "transient," sleeping on couches while frequenting cutting edge bars and restaurants throughout the state - mostly in Indianapolis. It was during those late nights he began to think about how he could bring that atmosphere to Kokomo, offering unique menus for "foodies" with drinks you couldn't find anywhere else.
"It was one of those things where I began to think 'Why should I drive out of town to go someplace, when I know there's a market here and I know there are people who want these types of food, beverages and cocktails?'" he said. "All of this kind of came together."
After closing down for close to six months while he worked out getting the bar its own liquor license, The Coterie returned by popular demand, attracting not only the 21 to 30 crowd, he said, but those who are interested in experiencing something a little different.
"Right now we're a really small kitchen so we've got mainly bite-sized stuff," he said. "My influence is my kitchen. We're all foodies - we all like food and the way food is presented. We like the work that goes behind it and being able to tell a story about it.
"I don't go to a restaurant and order the same food every time," he added. "I wanted to do something different and give people an option."
Gibson isn't alone in that sentiment in Kokomo, which has seen a number of business owners in their 30s make the move downtown to test their own niche markets.
From vinyl records at American Dream Hi-Fi to a multi-faceted bookstore in the Bind Café and Beyond Barcodes, more and more young entrepreneurs are creating business models for their passions, collaborating with like-minded business owners to create a cohesive downtown that is beginning to offer something different, Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight said.
"The philosophy is this: you need your franchises because of the value that they bring to the city - but everybody city has those," he said. "Downtowns are usually the unique parts of cities. That's why you need have those unique businesses as much as possible and really embrace that market."
A VISION WITHOUT BORDERS
DeAndra Beard credits her parents in helping pave the way for her to become the business owner she is today.
Since October of 2014, the Beyond Borders Language Learning Center founder has enjoyed helping people from different cultures gain common ground through the dialogue created from learning languages.
That vision has expanded recently, as Beard has added on to Beyond Borders by opening the Bind Café and Beyond Barcodes multicultural bookstore to enhance the offerings, and mission, of her business venture at 108 N. Main St.
None of it would have been possible, she admits, without parents who encouraged her to follow her passion rather than settle for a more "practical" career choice.
"I grew up watching my parents do what they had to do to raise me," she said. "They sacrificed so much and when they were sending me to college, they told me 'do whatever you can for yourself.' They didn't necessarily follow their own passions, but I couldn't have done this without them creating the space for me to explore my passions."
Beard's passion is in the pages of the books she sells at Beyond Barcodes, exploring topics of social justice, human rights and multi-cultural and international themes, while featuring an open concept with tables and chairs.
In the back, the Bind Café offers craft, free trade coffees from Haiti, Guatemala and even a local roasting company Naomi Smith's Factory Town Coffee, along with pastries, muffins, quiches, turnovers and cookies.
"Much like creating commonality through language like I started with Beyond Borders, the same idea applies with the bookstore and café: create a space for people to come together and have thought-provoking conversations," she said. "There's a comfortable feel to it when you have books that are part of this niche that you don't see in other places, and you're surrounded by coffee and snacks."
Beard, who is 35, has gotten plenty of encouragement and support from other like-minded downtown business like Jitterbug & Co.'s Chantel Kebrdle, who has helped her plan and cross-promote events. Others, like American Dream Hi-Fi owner Mike Wilson, have simply created a friendly atmosphere that has made working in the downtown area a welcoming experience.
"When he first came downtown we hit it off right away," she said. "I love records and have a turntable, so he brought me over a vinyl record I really enjoyed. Now I'll stop over there and take him over a cup of coffee."
A DREAM REALIZED
Before his vinyl record store even existed, Mike Wilson had envisioned a record store in downtown Kokomo.
As a start-up with little money to invest in a building, however, he and business partner Adam Romanak decided on a location on Center Road for American Dream Hi-Fi.
They began to look at downtown locations before being contacted by Kokomo Toys & Collectibles co-owner Todd Jordan about a small space he owned at 109 E. Sycamore St. that needed an owner. Wilson jumped at the opportunity immediately and the store reopened at the beginning of 2016.
"Both (Comics Cubed owner) Shawn (Hilton) and Todd were pulling for me to come downtown," said Wilson. "I think they wanted to see the entire block be vintage collectibles, so it becomes a destination spot."
Wilson, who returned to Kokomo in 2011 after living in Indianapolis for a few years, said cooperation from niche owners like Jordan and Hilton, along with other young entrepreneurs like Beard and Gibson, has made the move downtown an exciting one.
Gibson has teamed up with Wilson to host "Turntable Tuesdays" at The Coterie, where he spins vinyl records while the bar offers $5 old fashioned cocktails. The collaborations, he said, might be an emerging theme among business owners his age who are more concerned with doing something they enjoy than maximizing profits.
"As far as a new mindset, I think a lot of us in our late 20s or early 30s are not so much focused on how much money we can squeeze out of every single transaction," he said. "We're more concerned with what we can do that we enjoy.
"Obviously you need money to stay open, but I guess if there's any new philosophy, it's more of a fun, community atmosphere, rather than strictly business," he added.
The community atmosphere reaches beyond The Coterie for Gibson, who got his feet wet working at Hacienda and The Social before deciding to open The Coterie with partners Dustin Ogle and Zach Miller.
Along with the occasional collaboration with local businesses like American Dream Hi-Fi, he has hosted events like Brews on Buckeye, the Kokolina Wine Mixer and will co-host the first Kokomo Hip-Hop Gala on March 26. All of the events implement his brand of cuisine and Indiana craft beers on top of bringing people into the downtown for an evening of live entertainment.
"I like to do events and I like to see people doing things in downtown Kokomo," he said. "I like to see the people who say they don't ever get out of the house because there's nothing to do. I try to give them a reason to get out of the house. "
While the collaboration and cross-promotion has become regular among younger business owners, Wilson said he doesn't feel like there is any specific business plan at work in helping each other thrive.
"I feel like it's really natural - it's not a forced thing," he said. "We've got kind of a unique situation where we've got some cool people doing some cool things and we all really get along with each other. There's no doubt that we all agree in cross-promotion and cross-traffic and that will eventually help all of us. I don't think there's any real plan, it's all kind of organic."
THRIVING IN HIS HOMETOWN
As a kid, Timothy Boor can remember hopping on his bike and riding down Sycamore Street with his buddies to a then-thriving downtown district with a comics store and Army surplus.
When he moved away to Manhattan to pursue a career as a tattoo artist under world-renowned artist Paul Booth's Last Rites Gallery, he was reminded of the benefits of being located in a neighborhood where all you had to do was walk a few blocks to find everything you needed.
Being a hometown boy at heart, Boor returned to Kokomo a little more than three years ago with the hope of contributing to that same feel in the downtown district.
He recruited the best tattoo artists he could find from his time in New York, and started Bohemian Tattoo Club & Gallery, which has earned the reputation as one of the region's best, with Boor recently appearing on a Spike TV documentary "Ink Shrinks."
Boor has been tattooing since 2007, after taking a buyout at Chrysler that allowed him enough cash flow to learn the craft. He had done tattoo work on and off prior to that, beginning in 2001, before learning the ropes from fellow Bohemian Tattoo Club artist Bradley Pearce.
"I always wanted to open my own place and downtown was always where I pictured it being," Boor said. "It reminds me of what I liked about New York and I saw Kokomo had the potential to be like a Broad Ripple with a few different bars and restaurants, older gentlemen's clubs and the architecture."
Slowly, Boor sees younger business owners bringing his dream to fruition, as the success of the first few to take to leap of faith has encouraged others to give it a shot.
"The fact that there have been a few to start that local business vibe has opened it up for more to try," he said. "There are more people coming out for First Friday events and they've seen how crowded those events can be and how great that can be for our business - it's basically like free advertising."
Boor hopes that will continue, particularly with the spirit of cooperation he has experienced from other younger business owners.
"It's not a competitive atmosphere, there's more camaraderie," he said. "I see different local business owners stopping in my shop on First Fridays.
"The more people see something going in a positive direction and see businesses becoming successful, that could give them the confidence that their idea might work," he added.
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Source: Kokomo Tribune, http://bit.ly/1QnvStC
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Information from: Kokomo Tribune, http://www.ktonline.com