MCEWEN, Tenn. (WTVF) — For decades, an old factory was a vital part of a middle Tennessee community and its economy. Today, someone believes he can make it an important center of the county again.
Having a space to work and produce is something that will never be undervalued by Bill Fauver.
"I own an ice skate boot-making company called SP-Teri," Bill said.
The story of how he and his team wound up at their current location begins during a painful time for middle Tennessee.
"I got an alarm on my phone," Bill remembered. "The alarm at the business had gone off. We didn't find out until the next day how devastating the damage was."
SP-Teri was located in Nashville until the tornadoes of March 2020.
"The building was destroyed," Bill continued. "Equipment was damaged. Inventory was damaged."
Eventually, SP-Teri found a new home in McEwen. SP-Teri is now back to work in a building once a major employer in the area.
"This was built in 1947," Bill said of the building at 55 High St in McEwen. "30,000 square feet. It was really built to ease the unemployment after World War II. A company called Washington Manufacturing moved in. After they folded, OshKosh B'Gosh came in, and they were in this facility until 2000."
In all that space, in the old boards, Bill saw potential.
"The more I see, the more I like," he smiled.
He wants to make the place The Little Factory in McEwen.
"What I'm sitting on is a beautiful wood floor, which is going to be a great surface for a roller rink, and we're considering putting Glice in here, which is an artificial ice surface. That annex over there will be the antique pinball area. We could do concerts in here at night. There's space in the back for a restaurant, and behind that, a farmer's market. The shops will be located around the sides."
Bill's now in the middle of a restoration of the building. He said his plans will take about a year and a half to happen. After his journey so far, Bill wants the building to again be as important to the area as it is to him.
"And I think we'll make it, again, a center of attention for the town and Humphreys County, I hope," Bill said.
