Rooster Joe’s, Made Apparel Officially Open
VERSAILLES — A building that initially seemed too large for either business became the right fit when Rooster Joe’s and Made Apparel decided to share it.
The businesses celebrated their Versailles locations with a soft opening and ribbon cutting alongside the Versailles Chamber of Commerce Board on Wednesday, Oct. 7, bringing coffee, apparel and a shared commitment to community under one roof.
The location at 39 S. Center St., a former Versailles fire station, houses second storefronts for the Coldwater-based coffee shop and Celina-based apparel business.
For Rooster Joe’s owner Joe McClurg, the path to Versailles began with a friendship. Ben Wietholter, president of Acumen Building Solutions, had been McClurg’s neighbor in Coldwater before moving back to Versailles.
When Wietholter purchased the building, he approached McClurg about bringing the coffee shop to town.
“Ben approached us saying Versailles could really use a place like this,” McClurg said.
The space, however, presented an obstacle.
“When we first came and looked at the building, our first thought was it was just too big for us, which initially shelved the idea, but Ben is very persistent,” McClurg said.
Wietholter eventually connected with Made Apparel, whose owners had similar concerns about the building’s size. Sharing the space gave both businesses a way forward.
For McClurg, the move also carries a personal connection.
“Both of my grandparents were from Versailles, so I have spent a lot of time here growing up. I consider it my second home,” he said. “I am familiar with the people here in Versailles and I think that will fit our idea on what we want to be as a Rooster Joe’s.”
Since opening the original Coldwater location in January 2020, McClurg said supporting other small businesses has been central to the operation. He plans to carry that approach into Versailles, with locally sourced pastries and milk from Logan County.
“We are very local, everything we do is as local as possible,” he said. “We want to help all small businesses.”
The Versailles location also includes a drive-through, a feature McClurg said helped make the Coldwater shop popular.
“The drive-through helps us get people in, caffeinated and on their way quickly,” he said.
For Made Apparel owners Brooke and Braelen Bader, a husband-and-wife team, interest from Versailles customers helped make the decision to expand.
Brooke said suggestions to open farther south began around the Celina store’s first anniversary. Online sales offered further encouragement.
“The last two to three years our online Versailles collection has been our top-selling collection,” she said. “So that told us that there was support from this community.”
The building itself also felt familiar, with a roofline, color and concrete flooring reminiscent of their Celina storefront. Its history added to the appeal.
Still, the Baders wanted to be certain they could handle a second location while maintaining the attention given to their original store.
“We want both locations to show the efforts are there,” Braelen said. “We just didn’t want one to slip. We just had to make sure we could do it.”
Brooke joked that their first reaction was “an immediate absolutely not,” but the possibility remained in the back of their minds.
“But the idea was just always hanging right there,” Braelen said. “We think the missing piece was Rooster Joe, doing it as a team, we just couldn’t say no.”
The Baders plan to divide their time between the two storefronts. They also credited a trusted manager who has worked with them for three years with helping make the expansion possible.
That team approach extends to staffing in Versailles. They said most staff members will also work at Rooster Joe’s, allowing employees to help on either side when one business gets busy.
For Brooke, the new location is an opportunity to build connections through the products they create.
“As a small business, we always want the people to know and see our hearts are in this, with energy behind it,” she said.
“When we design something, we think about community, ‘Would they like this?’ We just want people to feel connected to our products.”
Made Apparel is open Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Wednesday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. While Rooster Joe’s will be open Monday-Friday from 5:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday service is available through the drive-through only.
Joe McClurg, and Brooke and Braelen Bader cut the ceremonial ribbon outside Versailles’ newest establishments. Joining them are members of the Versailles Chamber of Commerce.
