Really small businesses: Entrepreneurs make most out of their limited spaces

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by Michele Skalicky|ret||ret||tab|

SBJ Contributing Writer|ret||ret||tab|

sbj@sbj.net|ret||ret||tab|

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Good things come in small packages, or so the clich goes. |ret||ret||tab|

But business owners who operate out of tiny spaces agree. They've proven that a lot can be accomplished in spaces others might not have even considered. |ret||ret||tab|

Take Merle's Hot Dog Emporium, for instance. The restaurant at 319 1/2 W. Walnut is 9 feet wide by 75 feet deep 675 square feet.|ret||ret||tab|

The restaurant, owned by Susie and Gerald Wolfe, can seat four at a counter, and its menu includes a variety of hot dogs, brats, sandwiches, potato salad, soup and chili. |ret||ret||tab|

The food is prepared on site. "People can watch us make it because the kitchen's right there," Susie Wolfe said. |ret||ret||tab|

Sweet Susie's Sweets, the catering and bakery side of the Wolfes' business, also operates out of the tiny Walnut Street location. |ret||ret||tab|

"We do a lot of catering out of the bakery," she added. Sweet Susie's Sweets supplies baked goods to area restaurants, including the Mud Lounge, located next door. |ret||ret||tab|

A new addition to the Merle's/Sweet Susie's Sweets location is Granddaddy's B-B-Q. Owner Carl Davis now operates out of the same space. |ret||ret||tab|

As for how the three ventures operate out of such a small space, Wolfe said innovation is a must. |ret||ret||tab|

"With it being a restaurant, especially, you have to use every single little space," she said. Shelving is important, she added. |ret||ret||tab|

While sometimes it may seem like there are too many cooks in the kitchen, with the Wolfes and Davis, the trio is happy in the shared space. |ret||ret||tab|

"There are days you get past saying excuse me,'" Wolfe said. "You just bump into each other and go on."|ret||ret||tab|

She added that even with the space limitations, they plan to stay a while. Many businesses outgrow their locations and move on as was the case with Maria's Mexican Restaurant, which previously occupied the Walnut Street space before relocating to South Avenue "but this is just fine for us," Wolfe said. |ret||ret||tab|

Nonna's Bakery & Market is another business operating from a tiny location. Nonna's Bakery & Market at 208 W. McDaniel has been in its 20-by-20-foot space since April 1999, according to manager Jenny Faucett. In its 400 square feet of space, the business bakes for Nonna's Italian-American Caf and for Bambino's Caf, and it also sells baked goods to the public.|ret||ret||tab|

One of the advantages of being in a small area, Faucett said, is having everything handy.|ret||ret||tab|

"Everything's close. You don't have to go to far to get to stuff and it's supposedly a little easier to keep clean a smaller surface area to keep clean," Faucett said. However, she added, "Everything has to be organized for it to fit in here."|ret||ret||tab|

There are three employees at Nonna's Bakery & Market. With two people working at the same time, it's pretty comfortable, Faucett said. But with three people in at once, "it gets a little crowded," she said. |ret||ret||tab|

The disadvantage is a limit on how far the business can expand. |ret||ret||tab|

"You can't produce as much as you'd like to," she said. That's mainly because the bakery has to stick to the basics when it comes to equipment, Faucett said, because the space will only hold so much.|ret||ret||tab|

She hopes someday to move to a bigger location where that wouldn't be an issue, although customers enjoy patronizing Nonna's because of its location.|ret||ret||tab|

"People think it's cute," Faucett said. "They love this little space. They can't believe that we produce what we do here." |ret||ret||tab|

At 205 E. Walnut, Russell Gann cuts hair out of a 400-square-foot space. The owner of Walnut Street Barber Shop wouldn't want to have his business anywhere else. It's "a low overhead, low rent. There's just not much upkeep in a small space like this," Gann said. "Everything about it's just cheaper." |ret||ret||tab|

The cost of putting in new flooring or new lighting in a tiny space is less than it is for a larger building, Gann said. "I like the price of renting a small space and the ease of keeping up a small space." |ret||ret||tab|

Gann declined to say his rental rates.|ret||ret||tab|

While Gann is the only person working full-time at Walnut Street Barber Shop, two self-employed hair stylists also operate out of the building.|ret||ret||tab|

The only disadvantage of where he is, Gann said, is the lack of privacy. |ret||ret||tab|

"You can't escape when you want to get away or eat lunch," he said. "There's really nowhere to go." Even though the business has a small back room, "you're still right there," he said. But Gann wouldn't trade his space for any other.|ret||ret||tab|

"I'd like to be here for another 60 years," he said. |ret||ret||tab|

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