An Emporium woman is transforming a former clothing store into a space for the community to enjoy.
Sarah Nolan was a Marine for 20 years. When she retired out of North Carolina, she wanted to live in a place in the mountains.
That’s when a friend suggested she move to Emporium.
“I didn’t know anything about Pennsylvania,” Nolan said. “I had been all over the world, but I had no idea that it would be beautiful in this small little town right here.”
After renovating her victorian home, Nolan took on a new project: transforming the former Cappy’s Clothes building into an art studio and gathering space.
Work began in July 2018, and she did most of it by herself.
“Knocking out the ceiling, knocking out the fluorescent lights,” she said. “Everything had to be gutted to expose all this original beauty.”
After months of renovations, the venue is ready to be rented out for special occasions.
“Like bridal showers, baby showers, 80th birthday parties, sweet 16 parties,” Nolan said. “Whatever they think of, they can rent it out and have a good time.”
While the space isn’t a traditional business, Nolan said the community is happy she’s putting the storefront to use.
“People are glad that there’s something happening out of this store because it is just full of so many memories,” she said.
The space can be used to hold community or private events. It will even play host to a hand drum class next month.