Wheel House Studio is a pottery studio that offers private lessons, events and days where people who don’t have pottery experience can come in and give it the "college try," Dan Nuñez said. He opened his business in 2018 after buying a building with no roof and spending two years renovating it.

Before buying his space, he helped his friends Dylan Rogers and Jeana-Dee Allen renovate to open their business next store, The Robin Theatre, in 2015. The Robin Theatre is a listening room, events space and one of REO Town’s three indie bookstores. 

"We have a really eclectic calendar and lately, in the past year or so, we've really been trying to shift a bit of focus towards creating free or donation based high quality events," Rogers said.

Events range from donation-based workshops for writers, free monthly experimental music showcases and free monthly poetry open mics. In addition to these free or donation-based events, they offer a limited number of free or reduced student tickets for paid experiences. You can confirm availability of these student discounts on a show-to-show basis by calling ahead. Find The Robin Theatre’s upcoming events calendar here. 

Owner of Jean Jean Vintage, a jewelry store featuring antique, vintage and original pieces, Emily Duffelmeyer opened her storefront in REO Town in 2018 after being exclusively online for about eight years.

"I was really drawn to REO Town," Duffelmeyer said. "It feels like such a welcoming district."

Duffelmeyer also enjoys the history of REO Town. The name REO comes from Ransom Eli Olds, who was a pioneer of the American automotive industry. The original Oldsmobile Plant was in REO Town, causing it to be a vibrant bustling district back in the day.

While that factory is no longer around, the Lansing Board of Water and Light (BWL) opened its headquarters in the historic REO Town Depot in 2013, creating many new jobs. The City of Lansing also invested money into the district in the early 2010s to widen the sidewalks, add bike lanes, landscaping and benches, marking the improvement of infrastructure in REO Town.

REO town also has more representation of women-owned businesses than the national average, as the majority of businesses are owned or co-owned by women.

Sleepwalker Spirits and Ale microbrewery opened next door to Wheel House Studio in 2019, which owner Jeremy Sprague also describes as a "funky pizza house" — confirmed by their weekly special of kimchi pizza. Sleepwalker is just one of many food options in REO Town.

Their mug club is a collaboration between Sleepwalker and Wheel House, as all of the mugs were made by Dan Nuñez and glazed by his wife, Abbey Nuñez. This is just one example of a collaboration between the businesses in REO Town, as they pride themselves on community.

"I don't buy being an island, you know, we need to be together to lift each other up and to keep each other buoyant," Sprague said.

Sprague said there is a "symbiotic relationship" between the businesses in REO Town and that they are "a part of a fabric" together. Customers often order a pizza at Sleepwalker and wait for it next door at Wheel House.

"They have a button next door that if they press it, it changes the lights in here and lets my students know their pizza’s ready," Dan Nuñez said.

The businesses also work together to host community events and fundraisers. Recently, Sleepwalker and Wheel House collaborated for an event called "Bowl Lotta Love." The event was hosted at Sleepwalker, and for 30 dollars, attendees could purchase soup from the microbrewery served in a souvenir bowl handmade by Wheel House Studio. The event raised 2,500 dollars for Punks with Lunch Lansing, a non-profit outreach organization which provides food, hygiene kits and harm reduction supplies to those in need. 

The district also collaborates for various festivals and annual events, including their Juneteenth celebration, which many different vendors and businesses participate in.

"We are like … the caretakers of these buildings for a decade or however long we're down here, and we're serving the community and we're trying to do events, we're trying to do fundraisers," Duffelmeyer said.

The owners of REO Town's businesses are a close-knit community. Rogers officiated the Nunezs’ wedding at Cooley Gardens up the street from their businesses, while Allen did the flowers and Steven Glynn took their tintype engagement photos in his photography studio, located just above Sleepwalker. Recently, Dan Nuñez has been working on a raised garden bed where he says they all garden together now.

Dan Nuñez hopes that more people residing in the East Lansing area will venture over to REO Town and explore what they have to offer.  

"(I'm excited to) give people on that side of 127 a better understanding (of) why they might enjoy coming out to REO Town and Lansing at large," Dan Nuñez said.