Vicky Gits / vgits@ccnewspapers.com
Leah Walker is manager of the Castle Rock Mercantile, a
multi-merchant emporium scheduled to open May 1 in the now empty
north half of Castle Rock Feed and Western Wear, 200 Perry St. in
downtown Castle Rock.
By Vicky Gits
A mini shopping mall for 16 Western-oriented retailers is taking
shape inside the north half of the now subdivided Castle Rock Feed
and Western Wear at 200 Perry St.
The store is a joint effort of Wayne Bennington, owner of Castle
Rock Feed and Western Wear, and Leah Walker, owner of Castle Rock
Screenprinting and Embroidery.
The two have collaborated in business since Nov. 7, 2005, when
Walker moved her custom embroidery studio into the feed store to
save on rent. But the convenient arrangement was coming to an
end.
“When Wayne downsized the store, I was going to have to find a
new location,” she said.
She liked the store and she liked being downtown.
“When I was there it worked really well. We fed off each other’s
business,” she said. “Customers would come in for feed and they’d
need a blanket embroidered. We thought if we had a bunch of
businesses in one room we could all feed off each other.”
A longtime Castle Rock businesswoman, Walker nearly died from
non-Hodgkins lymphoma cancer and the ensuing therapy. She was ill
from about 2000-04. Since then she has made an amazing
recovery.
Her buddy during the chemo days was the late Steve Roberts,
former owner of The Barn, who fought cancer.
“We had a lot of those talks in the morning when you can’t
sleep. He saw The Barn expanding into the feed building some day,”
Walker said.
As the appointed manager of the Mercantile, Walker is in charge
of finding tenants. Once she put out the word new tenants seemed to
fall in line. As of April 5 Walker was looking for tenants to fill
eight spaces.
So far the merchandise menu includes English equestrian goods,
framed Western art, Western gifts, antiques, old-fashioned candy,
barn-builder’s samples, pet palaces and custom doghouses.
“The lady with the candles won an award for the best booth at
the state fair two years ago,” Walker said.
Walker believes there is room downtown for more merchants using
the independent booth model that has made The Barn successful. One
of her new tenants said she decided to go into the Mercantile
because there was a six-month wait at The Barn, Walker
said.
Roxanne Lindeman, manager of The Barn Antique and Specialty
Shops at 400 Third St., said she welcomes the
competition.
“I wish we could have a pathway built between the two stores,”
Lindeman said.
The Barn is packed with 25 merchants already and has been full
for some time so there often isn’t room to accommodate new tenants,
Lindeman said. “The more the merrier. It gives people more to
choose from.”
Most of the inventory in the north half has been shifted to the
south half of the feed store, which continues to sell western wear
and ranching goods.
Beginning in May the empty part of the building, about 2,067
square feet, will open as Castle Rock Mercantile, consisting of
cubicle-shaped shops about 10 feet square.
Like an antique mall, the spaces will belong to individuals who
will stock and decorate them. The subtenants are entitled to the
proceeds from any sales. The fee is about $400 a month for a space;
tenants are required to work the establishment two days a
month.
Contact Leah Walker at 303-525-8678.