Bodacious Olive buys former Janesville United Way building

JANESVILLE — Bodacious Olive LLC, which is owned by Quint and Rishy Studer, owners of the Beloit Sky Carp, has purchased the former United Way Blackhawk Region office building at 205 N. Main St.

The sale of the building was recorded with the Rock County Register of Deeds Office on Friday, Aug. 23. The sale price was $500,000.

Bodacious Olive operates three businesses which are located next-door to the former United Way offices — Bodacious Olive, which sells cooking oils, balsamic vinegars, salts and culinary items; Bodacious Brew, which is a coffee café, and So-Chopped, which is a salad restaurant. The building at 119 N. Main St. also offers second-floor apartments.

Shelby Dewey, event coordinator for Bodacious Olive in Janesville, said the businesses have been in Janesville since 2017. She said one of the immediate advantages of the building purchase is the shared parking lot between the buildings will nearly quadruple parking spaces for customers.

Quint Studer said he is not ready to announce what will go into the building, but he did say it will be a food and drink related business.

“We’re pretty far down the road with knowing what we want in there,” Studer said. “It’s just a matter of getting the architects and space planning in there.”

He said there should be an announcement of how the space will be used in the next 30 days. He said he expects construction will take six to nine months, since the interior will pretty much have to be gutted.

He said the purchase of the building is a win for everyone involved. He noted the United Way now has a half-million dollars to assist area non-profits and a building in downtown Janesville will have a new use.

“We do these projects to help the quality of life in communities,” Studer said.

Shar Hermanson, president and CEO of Forward Janesville, said the sale is great news for a key piece of property in the downtown area.

“We’re excited about what could be possible with the development of this space,” she said.

United Way Blackhawk Region officials announced the building was in the process of being sold back in June. As of June 24, the United Way staff has been working remotely during the sale of the building and preparations for a new home for the United Way.

United Way officials said the building had become larger than the staff needed, and officials had previously expressed a desire to sell the building and move offices to a location more centrally located between Beloit and Janesville.

The Stateline United Way based in Beloit and the United Way of Northern Rock County based in Janesville merged in 2012, and offices were consolidated in the building at 205 N. Main St., Janesville.