That vision is for "local business done right. Green and local," she says. Right under the restored EZE Mop sign, in a place where "shopping has never been EZier."
Then there's the old house where the Jurenkas lived. A banker told Stephanie that it wasn't worth more than the land on which it stands (one round of restaurant plans called for tearing it down and building a parking lot), but the partners saw value in its history, in its elegant Victorian lines. And so she and Chris plan to turn the upstairs into three very cheap offices for nonprofits (they will continue to donate 6 percent of all shop proceeds to charity, as they currently do) and transform the downstairs into a mercantile complete with a coffee cart (they've already bought the original coffee bar from the Tattered Cover) and a little screening room that filmmakers can use for free if they'll just pay the barista. There will be puppy posts out front so that customers can come with their dogs, and games on the lawn, and tables outside where everyone can make themselves right at home in the neighborhood.
The future home of the EZE Mop Shopping District — and three worthy entrepreneurs.
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They figured it would cost a million dollars to complete the deal — "I'm an anti-millionaire," Stephanie says — and the bank they were talking to saw a gap in financing. "Which is how we got involved," Slekes says. The EZE Mop project is an ideal fit with MOED's goals, he explains, "which are first and foremost job creation." But restoring the building will also eliminate "blighting influences" and increase property values with "three retail businesses that directly service the neighborhood." Still, even with MOED filling the financial gap with HUD dollars from the agency's revolving loan fund, the bank pulled out at the last second.
Stephanie called Slekes, and he started dialing. "I got them an answer in the time they needed," he says. Key Bank came on board in time for the deal to close on March 24.
Demolition may start this week. If the architect and the construction crew and the partners can stick to their schedule, the shops will start moving in over the July 4 weekend, with a grand opening sometime in August. Whenever the mayor can come, Stephanie says. After all, John Hickenlooper knows all about finding opportunity in a down economy; that's when he started the Wynkoop Brewing Company.
But there's still plenty of hard work before the EZE Mop Shopping District becomes a reality. The building is full of decades of dust and grime, as well as old linoleum and a weird furnace made out of two barrels (their mechanic wants that, Stephanie says). A neighbor recently told Stephanie about the existence of a third basement accessed from the back porch of the house. Down below, she and Chris found stacks of World War II newspapers, old farm equipment, even an ancient accordion. They think the space was the boiler room for the theater — and that reminds them of the old movie theater seats they bought years ago when the Ogden was renovated. They're planning to move them into the screening room in what they're calling the Grind Haus, right by where the theater got its start. "It's starting to feel really crazy, bizarre," Stephanie says. "It's feeling meant to be."
Particularly since they're still waiting for their trash can on 13th.
EZE does it.
For an EZE slide show, log on to westword.com. Contact the author at patricia.calhoun@westword.com.
