Evansville furniture refinisher says national grant will help update her workshop

EVANSVILLE — A downtown Evansville business owner says she’ll use a $10,000 national business grant to remodel the workshop at her home decor, furniture and furniture refinishing store.

The Vintage Roost, located at 14 W. Main St., along a stretch of cobblestone roadway, opened in October 2014.

It recently received a Backing Small Businesses grant from Main Street America and American Express. It was one of 500 small business recipients nationwide, including in Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. Thirty-recipients were from Wisconsin.

Owner Abbey Barnes said the proposal that was accepted as part of her grant application was to remake her antique furniture workshop by adding ventilation and upgrading her tools.

“I consistently have a waiting list for furniture refinishing and a lot of the tools that I need to expand my services are super expensive. Sanders can be $1,500 and air compressors can be over $500,” she said “I always wanted to get them, but I own my building and things come up.”

With the upgrades, she said she’ll be able to spray-paint furniture year-round, versus just hand-painting. She said she’ll also generally be able to work more efficiently and to keep up with industry trends. As one of the only furniture refinishers in the area, the changes will help her serve more customers and to grow her customer base, she said.

The Vintage Roost started out as an antique store and in 2020 switched focus amid a softening market for antiques. Barnes still sells antique furniture, alongside new and modern home décor.

She said she loves “being able to salvage something that somebody’s had forever, but maybe it’s not their style, or it’s worn out, or just, you know, needs repairing.”

“I love being able to bring new life into it.”

Barnes is the president of the chamber of commerce, a program that helps connect small businesses downtown. She is also on the city council and is actively involved in applying for grants for the community.

She said because of The Vintage Roost’s location on Main Street and her deep community involvement, she participates in a lot of local events such as Olde Fashioned Christmas, Girls Night Out and Art Crawl, and this will elevate the business that people see as they stop by.