Gifting company Bea's aims to open in the Eastern Market this summer
- Olivia Esparza
- May 2, 2019
- 3 min read
A Grosse Pointe Farms couple plans to transform a vacant warehouse in Eastern Market into a retail, co-working, and workshop space called Bea’s. Initially the couple anticipated Bea’s opening by this spring, but the owners say they are now thinking their store will not open until the summer.
Beatrice Wolnerman, co-founder and owner of the gifting business Open Me When, says, “I feel bad we’re not further along. We expected to be further along. Right now, we’re still trying to define our plans. Since we’re adding a second story, we found out that the walls aren’t structurally sound to support it so we’re going to have to tear down two of the four walls and rebuild them in order to add the second story. This has changed the whole scope of the project.”
Beatrice says adding the second floor has increased their initial budget on renovating the building.
Beatrice and her husband, Eli Wolnerman, purchased the nearly 4,000-square-foot building at 1533 Winder St. on November 5, 2018. Plans for the building include a total interior and exterior rehab.
“We’re gonna make Bea’s a really cool, new, industrial-chic, co-working and creating space. The top floor will be more traditional there will be offices and conference rooms. There’s even going to be a rooftop deck. On the first floor we’re gonna have a warehouse in the back that is going to be available to rent by the 50-square-feet,” says Beatrice.
Beatrice says the first floor will also have retail from local Detroit businesses that customers can purchase when creating their gift boxes. In addition to the retail space, the Wolnermans are adding a coffee bar that will sell Populace Coffee and feature specialty drinks.
“I want Bea’s to be as inclusive or inviting as it can to the Detroit community. We want you to get everything done in one place. We’re having a retail and coffee space to bring people in. We’re also gonna have big windows so that people can walk by and see people creating stuff,” says Beatrice.
The Wolnermans founded Open Me When in August 2017. The couple makes specialty gift boxes with luxury items. They come themed or can be custom ordered. According to their website, the Wolnermans currently have 11 themed boxes that range from “You Deserve A Treat For Being So Sweet” for $80, to “It’s Five O’clock Somewhere” for $115, and “You’re Down With Detroit” for $150.
Beatrice says on average her and Eli make 100-1,000 boxes per month.
“We’ve been working out of our home in Grosse Pointe and now it’s getting to the point where there are boxes everywhere so that was kind of our cue we needed to find a space to store and make our boxes,” says Beatrice.
When the couple first sought out places to rent, Beatrice said nothing fit their needs.
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Beatrice says making the transition from having her business located in her home to the Eastern Market will benefit Open Me When.
“The exposure alone will get a lot more foot traffic in our store,” says Beatrice. “Also, there’s no other co-working spaces right now in Eastern Market so I think that will make Bea’s stand out. Having this building will also give us the chance to create a place where people can come and have a good time.”
Beatrice says retailers at Eastern Market have been very welcoming and seem excited for the new addition to the market.
In an interview with The Detroit News, Dan Carmody, president of Eastern Market Corp., says, “There is a lot of deferred maintenance that needs to be addressed. They [Wolnermans] have a pretty good plan to address it. They’re trying to take advantage of the historic character of the building.”
Megan Lewis, owner of Devries and Company in Eastern Market, says, “Bea’s sounds like it’s going to be a fun place and I can’t wait to see the turnout. I hope everything goes well for them.”
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