New Shared Workspace Opens in Schulenburg

Last Sunday a new shared work space in Schulenburg called Jack and Mary’s held a picnic to introduce itself to the community.

The enterprise is a brainchild of Erin Wotipka, founder of And Then a New Day (or And Then for short), which provides life skills training and meaningful employment to young adults with special needs.

“It’s a space we’re creating for everybody, not just people with learning challenges or special needs,” Wotipka said.

Jack and Mary’s is located in the unusual long house located at 610 Lyons Avenue, diagonally across from the Von Minden Hotel. The property will include spaces for five or six “micro-businesses,” as Wotipka called them.

Local entrepreneurs will be able to lease the spaces for as little as $200 a month. In exchange, they will agree to employ some of And Then’s clients to staff their business.

“These spaces might be a coffee shop or a salad shop,” Wotipka said. “We’ll have a couple of food trucks in the yard. Local people can come and enjoy what’s there, and it gives our clients an opportunity to increase their works skills.”

And Then mostly caters to young folks on the autism spectrum. Wotipka said one of the biggest fears of parents with autistic children is how their children can live independently after they leave the school system.

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