‘Non-traditional’ business gets city loan

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

The Van Wert Revolving Loan Fund showed it is not only willing to support the traditional business model on Friday with a $20,000 loan for a tattoo/piercing business to locate in what was formerly Mum’s Café on West Main Street.

Bradley Hamman and Bethany Nolin received a check for that amount on Friday from County Commissioner Clair Dudgeon and plan to open their new business, Open Minded, in early July.

For Hamman, the opportunity is a dream come true. “This is really exciting for us,” Hamman said after receiving the check. “It is phenomenal having that key to open that front door,” he said, adding, “This is a lifestyle to us, not just a job or career.”

Hamman and Nolin, who have nearly a quarter century of experience in tattoo/piercing techniques (he 17 years and she 6 years), had been looking for a building in the downtown area to purchase and originally were interested in another building when this opportunity came up.

The Mum’s building, which is owned by the City of Van Wert because the previous owner defaulted on a Revolving Loan issued to him, had to be transferred to the Community Improvement Corporation before a deed could  be issued to Hamman and Nolin. CIC President Jon Rhoades was also at Friday’s meeting to sign over the deed to the new owners.

Both Hamman and Nolin said they have some definite plans for the building, after making sure any possible safety issues are dealt with, and hope that renovations and any construction needed will be completed in approximately three weeks.

“We are planning on making our studio into something inviting and enticing to everyone,” Hamman said. “And you will leave with a smile whether you spend money or not.”

Nolin, who moved to Van Wert from Michigan, said she plans to use her interest in photography to create some artwork for the new shop, while friends of the pair have also pledged to sent art for display in the new downtown business.

The new tattoo/piercing studio will be open seven days a week, from 11 a.m.-8 p.m., Hamman said. “We try to make people happy and you need to be there seven days a week to do that,” he noted. “That is one part of the name ‘Open Minded’: we are open.”