Shutdown could help out 418 Broadway
CHICO » Good news stories that have a coronavirus twist are pretty hard to come by, but business owner Matt Thiede might just have one.
Thiede, along with his wife and partners, are shaking out the remake of 418 Broadway, a historic brick office building that will eventually be home to Stoble Coffee and Workplace.
In telling the tale of the builidng’s remodeling late last year, Thiede had challenge after challenge in dealing with the old building.
But the way he looks at it, if all had gone smoothly and the coffee roaster, coffee purveyor and cowork space provider had moved forward, it would have opened and then been slammed shut by the pandemic. Not the best launch for a small business.
As it stands, Thiede and his partners are still working on the building, although the sides are up and passersby can’t see the progress inside. The walls are framed, the staircases and elevator shaft are in, and the decktop area isn’t hard to envision.
The company, which started providing coffee via www.stoblecoffee.com, no longer travels to Berkeley to roast its beans, but uses a local roaster. It’s shifted from a coffee cart-based business in downtown and in the surrounding area, to delivery of its many coffee drinks and products.
Stoble’s business model was quickly reformulated to deal with customers stuck at home or those who still had an office roof above them.
“It really blew up,” said Thiede last week during a phone interview. The days are dedicated to delivering drinks, dealing with beans, and working up an agreement with local bakeries to deliver their goods.
“Our roaster is in town, but it isn’t quite ready,” Thiede.
Home delivery “… is keeping us really busy,” said Thiede, who was able to hire — and keep — three employees.
“We’re masked and gloved, and you never see us delivering. We leave it at the front door.”
Until the pandemic dims, that’s likely the model that Stoble will use, but fingers are crossed for an opportunity in the fall to open.
“Once the pandemic hit, it was the best news that we weren’t done.”
Thiede imagines laying off employees, shutting offices and losing rent, not to mention disappointing customers.
“It would have been a bigger challenge if the building had been done.”
As it stands the western side of Broadway Street is the hub of a new downtown look, with Stoble going forward, and up the next block, the near-finished look of the Hotel Diamond expansion that has brought the Morehead Building back to an earlier look.
Even so, there are setbacks as construction crews move forward more slowly, and workers seek social distancing as well, he noted.
“Some want to be the only crew on the project for the time. We’re trying to respect (their wishes) but it’s slowed it down.” Thiede still sees the positive. “We have a front and a roof. The floors are in. (Last) week the inspections for all the walls — lighting, power, gas, sprinklers etc. were being completed. Then we move to insulation. That’s making us feel in the home stretch. The elevator shaft is ready to go.”
Having a slower pace of progress has allowed the team also to connect with other co-working spaces to see how they’ve been dealing with coronavirus precautions and protections.
“The rooftop deck now houses a vast shade structure helping to bring to life our visiion of what it will be like to leisurely sit and sip coffee while you overlook the plaza. By early fall of 2020, we hope to see you all there” is how Stoble’s Facebook page reads.
“We can see it,” said Thiede, with what sounded like a smile through the phone lines.