Cheney's Mason Jar surpassed its three-year anniversary and owner Doug LaBar has recently completed an addition to the restaurant.
Cheney's Mason Jar has defied plenty of the odds when it comes to starting a new business.
"Most businesses fail," owner Doug LaBar said. "Nineteen months is what they say."
But after just surpassing the three-year birthday mark, the downtown eatery has expanded adding about 450 square feet to the east of the existing restaurant that belonged to AAA Labs, a water testing business.
The project started in November and has recently just been completed.
The original footprint of the eatery was approximately 850 square feet, LaBar said. The expansion was not all seating capacity as it included office space and a new bathroom.
"But we practically doubled our seating capacity," LaBar said.
Of all businesses, those in the food service sector have some of the highest rate of failure. How did Mason Jar buck that statistic, particularly in a community that has seen its share of eateries come and go?
"There was a lot of trial and error in the beginning, just trying to figure out what the community needs" LaBar said. "We had a passion for our vision we wanted to provide."
A lot of that centered around providing community space.
"The atmosphere of coffee, and sandwiches and soups and all that - kind of like home-hearty good stuff - was always really important," LaBar said.
Growing up in Cheney, LaBar said he recalled places catering to just college students or the day-to-day residents. "It seemed like a real harsh divide, not being open and having a good atmosphere for both," he said.
Finding a place that connected those customers was the key, LaBar said. "I think finding that balance was really our ticket."
If a business only tries to survive on college students in Cheney, summer can be a challenge, but LaBar has seemed to bridge that.
Along with the additional space, LaBar said they have added a few menu items for breakfast and lunch. "We've brought some things back that were kind of difficult at the beginning," LaBar said. And he will now look at adding more hours.
Paul Delaney can be reached at pdelaney@cheneyfreepress.com.
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