The Mercantile: coworking space expands to meet demands of downtown Wenatchee

WENATCHEE - The Mercantile owners Rick and Cory Wray and Jeff and Heather Ostenson opened the original Ellis-Forde coworking space in 2019 with a vision to foster economic development and build community. In order to meet a growing demand, they opened a second location, Mercantile at Midtown, in August.

“People value community and working together…It's our favorite thing to see members that didn't know each other meet and either partner with one another, or share ideas. I don't think we realized how valuable that was when we started all this,” said co-owner Cory Wray.

The Mercantile is a hybrid coworking space for both individuals and small businesses, offering endless opportunities to meet and network throughout the day. While workers may get to know each other over free tea and coffee in the kitchen, the Mercantile also organizes monthly events, breakfasts, lunches and happy hours, fostering a community of workers in the heart of Wenatchee. 

“It's nice to be downtown, because there's so many people in and out of here…And just access to our clients,” Jackie Endsley of Endsley and Company. “We have a lot of local or downtown businesses and people that we work with in the cowork, so it's nice to collaborate and be right here.”

Over the years, the Mercantile at Ellis-Forde grew its community of members by offering a blend of office suites for small businesses, fixed desks for remote workers, and open workspace for day and flex passes. Workers could utilize large conference rooms for meetings and phone booths for private calls. 

Eventually, the owners saw a need to expand, leading them to open the Mercantile at Midtown, located just down the street.

“We had been full down there for a couple years, so we knew there was some pent up demand. We didn't realize it would fill this place up so quickly,” said Wray.

Contrary to its sister location, the Midtown location offers more privacy with office suites for businesses and nonprofit organizations, rather than open workspace.

“I think it's hard for smaller businesses [of] one to three people to find office space downtown that's affordable. And our tenants, they save money…They share all the costs of a print center and a kitchen, a conference room, and a common area. And then they just have rent for their own dedicated space,” said Wray.

The second location offers similar amenities, such as a large kitchen for gathering, a business center, a conference room, and common area with a lounge and desks. Eventually, the Mercantile at Midtown plans to add a rooftop deck to its list of offerings.

The Mercantile at Ellis-Forde is located at 14 N. Wenatchee Avenue, and the Mercantile at Midtown is located at 37 S. Wenatchee Avenue, Suite F.

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media