Work to begin on children’s museum, cafe & market, workspace

SUGAR CREEK TWP.  A few years ago, Delight Howells and family members enjoyed a trip to a children’s museum. That’s when the calling began.

She left the positive experience with a thought: “We need a place like this in Wayne County,” Howells recalled.

The voice inside her head grew louder. She loved her job as a health department nurse manager and she was working on her master’s degree in business. But she began conversations with her mother about her vision and soon her entire family was on board.

“For me, this has been very much of a faith journey,” Howells said.

She began to research and work on a building project and didn’t know that at the same time, the voice also was beckoning another Wayne County woman, Lori Colon, who was diving in to her own project. The two finally met and discovered their ideas aligned. They began to collaborate to turn their dreams into a reality. Ultimately, the two women, their families and the partners who are coming on board hope the project will be beneficial to residents in Wayne County, surrounding counties, and beyond.

This week, plans are to break ground on a 44,000-square-foot building project in the field west of Dutch Kitchen. Inside the building will be the 30,000-square-foot new non-profit Wayne County Children’s S.T.E.A.M. Playlab, founded by Colon. In addition, the Howells family plans to open several new businesses in the multi-use building, including LincWay Art Studio, LincWay Café & Market, and LincWay Workspace. They are also planning to partner with a local salon to expand the business within the building.

Read the entire story in the June 2, 2021 edition of the paper.