Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Once a stove hood arrives, a newly refurbished Uniontown building will be ready to become a production facility. Its output will be Grandma Lela’s oatmeal.
The Uniontown Community Development Association (UCDA) bought the 1899 building at auction in July of last year. Since then, work has gone forward to bring new use to the space, which was once an old mercantile building at the corner of Main and Woodworth Streets.
Grandma Lela’s will use approximately two-thirds of the square-footage while the front third will be available as a retail space to rent.
“We’re hoping the facility will be online April 1st,” said Grandma Lela’s co-owner Cheryl Waller. “Maybe April 2nd; we don’t want to do April Fool’s Day.”
The project began last summer when UCDA bought the building for $39,750 and volunteers began to clear out various items which were stored there by the previous owner.
Last November, Pivot Construction of Pullman came in and put in a handicapped accessible bathroom, new floor covering, new lights and general repairs.
Waller estimates that Grandma Lela’s spent $12,000 in equipment for the facility, including a 10-burner commercial range.
Dale Miller, president of the UCDA, estimated their cost for the project at $25,000.
He said it all went nearly as planned.
“Generally, any time you do a rehabilitation of an older building, you have some things that come up which you don’t expect,” said Miller. “But there were no major problems or hangups in the construction process.”
While the work on the inside of the building is done, the exterior work to restore the original facade will begin soon. It was covered over in the 1970s.
To recreate the original store windows in the front, workers will take off the existing applied mansard roof, a type of partially-sloped covering.
Palouse Design Associates of Pullman is drawing the architectural plans now for construction slated for the late spring or summer.
Miller said the budget for the exterior will be between $60,000 and $70,000.
UCDA hopes to have a retail client in the front space once it is finished.
“Getting the back ready for Grandma Lela’s has been the priority,” said Miller. “We haven’t truly tried to market the retail space yet.”
All together, Miller said he is happy with the process.
“It’s just taking a while to get it there. But it will be a real nice addition to the town,” Miller said.
Waller indicated that the space Grandma Lela’s will use is flexible, with room for expansion to add more freezers, coolers or other items.
“It’s so simple right now, just the stove, sinks and pots,” Waller said. “We’re not stuck with some big piece of equipment we can’t move.”
Waller and her husband, Steve, along with Kathy Stilwell, hope to make 100 cases of oatmeal per week in the building.
The six ounce frozen product comes 12 to a case. It is now available in 10 stores in Pullman, Clarkston, Lewiston, Moscow, Colfax and Uniontown.
Sales are likely to expand shortly as two weeks ago the owners signed a distribution deal with Sweets & Things of Spokane.
“The business isn’t about just the three owners, it’s about our community and their belief in us. We owe everything to our community, the UCDA’s support and many volunteers along the way,” she said.
Grandma Lela’s, named after Waller’s grandmother, was founded in January 2012.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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