It's rare when communal and retail spaces coalesce in a way that actually feels organic. But when you're routinely bombarded with targeted ads on every social media platform and pelted with meaningless branding jargon on TV, a space with real grass and trees and thoughtful design feels ... refreshing.
Such is the vibe at Fergusons Downtown—a 1940s-era Mission Revival-style motel originally known as the Franklin Hotel, located on Fremont Street between 11th and 12th streets. The co-founder, creative strategist and main brain behind the newly renovated Fergusons Downtown is former Stitch Factory managing partner Jen Taler, and the other face behind the massive communal undertaking is none other than Zappos and Downtown Project founder Tony Hsieh.
So what's new at Fergusons? Well, everything. Folks have been living in Airstream trailers and tiny houses behind Fergusons since 2017, and it's been home to Mike Ross' giant tanker truck art piece, "Big Rig Jig," for several years. Fergusons has routinely hosted numerous private and public events (like Market in the Alley), but it wasn't until recently that the old motel grounds really came to life.
Dan Krohmer of Other Mama debuted his Japanese grill Hatsumi in May, and other Fergusons anchors Mothership Coffee and La Monja (the latter a Mexican restaurant, also from Krohmer) opened in September. Fergusons' recent media night demonstrated that, while some aspects of the grounds are still in progress, the storefronts are up and running.
Taler is hopeful that the triad of culinary offerings will provide stability to Fergusons as a whole—and to the small business tenants currently occupying space inside the former motel. "It's on the right trajectory," Taler says. "The goal was always to create a gathering space for the community—a place where people come and are excited to meet people, purchase things, eat things and actually appreciate them rather than walking through and leaving."
When coming up with a plan for Fergusons, she says, the question was always, "How do we create this space that brings people together, [who] want to connect or collaborate on what's happening in our local community?"
While the Fergusons team continues to gain a foothold in the community, Taler will continue to dream up more events and workshops—plus additional greenery. "We're still in the baby stages of everything," she says.
As for living in one of those Airstreams, don't get your hopes up. "We're fully booked, and we don't really have a high turnover," Taler says. Still, there's lots for the rest of us inside the Downtown commercial oasis.
"It's been a more organic-style of curation," Taler says of the different business tenants. "[With] most of the people that we have in here, a relationship has [already] been built." That includes storefronts like Mike's Recovery, a handmade soaps and bath products shop, and Neon Cactus Vintage, a local pop-up thrift retailer, now in its first brick-and-mortar space.
"A lot of these tenants have done markets or have Etsy shops or have established a clientele, so when they come in [to Fergusons], it's not just the storefront that they're relying on to drive their revenue," Taler adds.
Other tenants include The Tiny Bloom flower shop; a photography and tintype studio by Myron Hensel; the Noise Project hair salon; All for Our Country furniture and lighting; the Illumine Social Club and more.
Ultimately, Taler says, Fergusons is about creating a sustainable community network and providing a service for Downtowners. "[It's] really refining how to continue to build the full holistic lifestyle experience that's here," she says.
For now, it's providing something that didn't really exist in the area until now—a picturesque space to meet friends for coffee or lunch, where you can slow down and escape the hustle of everyday life. That's a promising place to start.
FERGUSONS DOWNTOWN 1028 Fremont St., fergusonsdowntown.com. Grand opening December 13-15.
