The Village celebrates 15 years

WASHINGTON — A coalition of rotating small businesses under one roof celebrated its 15th year of business in Washington Tuesday afternoon, with a ribbon cutting and Alive After Five event.

Lisa Lloyd Krotz, the daughter of Cathy Lloyd, one of the Village’s founders, said it was exciting to see the shop still thriving.

“She would be so amazed and proud that this is still going,” Lloyd Krotz said. “You guys have taken that torch and moved it forward. That was her dream, to have more people involved, so you don’t have to rent your own store, you get a small store.”

The business model has been recognized statewide with awards, like being named Main Street Iowa’s “Best Business Success Story” in 2011.

Char Anderson, one of the Village’s founders and a longtime business owner at the storefront, said she’d seen a lot of growth in the last 15 years, in which the business has survived a pandemic and a recession.

“It took a lot of planning,” she said. “Each of us had a small part of it.”

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Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com