Two retailers downtown seem to need more room next door.
We spotted some work being done inside the empty space at 311 SW Jefferson Ave. A city building permit search shows The Inkwell Home Store has plans to expand into the adjoining space.
(Photo: Inkwell Home expansion location, 311 SW Jefferson/The Corvallis Inquirer)
The City of Corvallis issued permit BLD26-00410 on August 27th for a project titled “Inkwell Expansion.” The permit calls for cutting a 12-foot-wide opening through the wall between the existing commercial building, which is the current Inkwell store, and the single-story building on Jefferson.
Inkwell’s start goes all the way back to 1964, when they were just selling stationery and books… which explains the name today. Now they sell furniture, cookware, and a ton of other unique items for the home.
This is just one of two expansions right now.
A few blocks down the street, Recollections Antique Mall is also working on its own expansion that will roughly double its space on Third Street.
The mall is expanding its current 411 SW Third Street location into the former Bike N’ Hike store next door.
Before opening Recollections Antique Mall here in town, Cheri and Jeff Gielish worked together at Time Travelers of Oregon, an extremely popular antique shop in Springfield.
An October 15th announcement said the mall planned to grow from 5,000 to about 10,000 square feet in November, making room for more antique dealers and merchandise.
(Photo: Recollections Antique Mall expansion at the old Bike N Hike location/Recollections Antique Mall)
The owners said they had been encouraged by the response from customers and the wider Corvallis community. “We appreciate every single vendor and dealer that has joined us in this adventure and look forward to the future.”
Recollections held a ribbon-cutting with the Corvallis Chamber of Commerce on September 19th. The chamber’s event listing said the mall had 25 dealers at the time.
Looks like there may be twice that many to come in the very near future.
The Inkwell Home Store is open from 10 am to 6 pm Monday through Saturday, and 11 am to 4 pm Sunday.
Recollections Antique Mall is open from 10 am to 5 pm Wednesday through Saturday, and noon to 5 pm on Sundays. The mall is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
This article was written by Jackson Hayes, a contributor to The Corvallis Inquirer. Feel free to send us your stories or articles to publish at: editor@corvallisnow.com
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