Is 2011 The Year?

It's been a week since the Times moved back into its historic front office on Main Street. The new quarters still look a bit bare. IT specialist Scott Underwood is still straightening out the computer system, and contractor Ron Smith is still putting the finishing touches on the trim.

Otherwise, the brand-spanking-new bullpen (an industry term for the newsroom) is up and running, ready for 2011.

Meanwhile, the newspaper collating, stuffing and mailing operation has been moved to the very back of the Mock Building so it can use the alley for transportation on Wednesday afternoon and not take up parking in front.

But as exciting as the move into the nice new space feels for the Times' staff, it's just as thrilling to know the front of the Mock Building where our offices were for much of the past year is now ready for the next phase of our remodeling plans.

The coffee shop!

We expect it will take at least until late spring to get the place up and running. The space is about 40 feet deep and has 14-foot ceilings. Behind the cork board and faux wood paneling are brick walls that we'll expose.

Then, we'll open a door between the Mock building and the brick-walled space behind the Times front office to create a lounge for customers to enjoy their beverages, pastries and light lunch items, tap into WiFi, view several historical print shop displays and photographs, and eventually even enjoy a little morning sunshine on a back patio with a glimpse of Preston Park.

We've spoken to a number of Waitsburg residents who still lament the loss of the Delta Connection and welcome access to a gathering place with good coffee, pastries and room to hang out.

We hope the coffee shop will help the momentum of development on Main Street along with other changes that bode well for 2011, which we feel will build on interest the town has received from travelers and visitors in 2010 and begin to meet the needs of its own residents.

The other changes in 2011 include the expected opening of the new boutique hotel next to the post office and the completion of the Plaza Theater renovations. The owners of the Whetstone building are also pursuing new tenants for their spaces.

This year's opening of Don Miguel's Mexican restaurant was a welcome culinary addition to Main Street as well, and more additions are afoot in the lodging department.

Plaza and Etcetera owners Robbie and Marilyn Johnson have plans to move to a home elsewhere in town, making their apartment available for guests. Waitsburg residents Paul Gregutt and Karen Stanton-Gregutt are remodeling a home on the west side of town for a two-bedroom guest house.

The new accommodations will complement existing lodging at Hiromi's House, PJ's and above the former Nothing New Antiques store.

A number of buildings downtown remain vacant. Some, like the old Farmer's Café property and JP Kent's remodeled building next to the former Delta Connection may catch the eye of additional tenants or retail entrepreneurs when they see the revival of downtown.

Of course, there's no guarantee the individual projects will add up to a sustainable renaissance on Main Street. Previous restaurant, café and retail concepts have come and gone.

But with the right kind of marketing and collaboration that builds on 2010's attention from Cycle Oregon and media reviews in food and travel articles, the current and potential changes downtown hold the promise of a turnaround in 2011.

At the close of the year, we toast to past successes and raise our glass to new ones in 2011. May it be a year of growing fortune for Waitsburg's Main Street.