Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Loafing shed
A pie-making class Sept. 28 was the first culinary session offered in the new loafing shed at the Dahmen Barn
The kitchen is in session.
The new building at the Dahmen Barn, the loafing shed – named after its predecessor torn down at the site – was dedicated Oct. 9.
The last part to be finished, the commercial kitchen, is now in use as the shed’s culinary arts program has begun. Classes started Sept. 28 with a slate to include “Secrets to a Stress-Free Thanksgiving” Nov. 2, taught by Jamie Callison, WSU Executive Chef, and a cookie-baking class Dec. 17.
“The barn should be smelling really good,” said Leslee Miller, Dahmen Barn manager.
The five-and-a-half year loafing shed project came in at final cost of $615,000, funded by six grants along with private donations and volunteer time.
“We patched it all together, and we’re done,” said Miller.
Contractors finished pickup work in September. The bulk of the interior was done in mid-July.
A final $6,900 grant from Inland Northwest Community Foundation is paying for items bought for the culinary program: baking sheets, utensils, mixing bowls and more.
In the shed’s studio spaces, six artists are now set up, including a man making custom fishing rods.
Building
Expanding the barn’s studio area was the push behind the loafing shed, as a way to serve a market and bring in more revenue.
The Dahmen Barn has had a waiting list for artist studio space for its entire 10-year existence. Its first two renters signed agreements after only seeing plans for what the barn would become when it opened in 2006.
“The loafing shed had to do with needing more space and to create a more sustainable budget,” Miller said. “So far, so good.”
A breezeway connects the 3,600 square-foot addition to the main building.
Labor on the construction was paid in prevailing (union) wages, required by state law, because the Uniontown Community Development Association – owner of the barn – is a Public Development Authority.
The construction took place in two phases – the outer shell and restrooms, electrical and water in 2014-15 followed by a break waiting on more grant funding. Phase two, the main interior work, ran from last fall to this spring and included insulation, sheetrock and doors and windows.
Funding for the addition has come from an ArtPlace America grant for $362,300, Whitman County .09 funding for $30,000 and $29,500 from Inland Northwest Community Foundation. The commercial kitchen/cooking class space was funded by a $49,750 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Business Development Program.
In addition, the UCDA received approval last year for $123,000 from a Washington state “Building for the Arts” grant, which allows a project to get up to 20 percent of its total cost.
ArtPlace America chose the Uniontown project in 2013 from 1,200 applications nationwide as an exceptional example of creative placemaking. ArtPlace America is a collaboration of national and regional foundations, banks and federal agencies committed to accelerating creative placemaking – using art to revitalize communities.
Features
The loafing shed’s commercial kitchen features a gas range with a $10,000 hood with electrical and fire-supression systems installed by Oxarc of Lewiston. Its $5,000 dishwasher runs in 60-second cycles. In addition, the kitchen has a six-burner range oven, two and three-compartment sinks, a 50-cubic-foot refrigerator and separate freezer.
Up to 24 people may be accommodated in the cooking classes, with six teaching stations with electrical outlets and induction burners.
The kitchen has barn doors – made from the original loafing shed’s rusted metal roofing and barn boards – opening to the main space.
A high, 50-foot long shelf marks one wall of the loafing shed, displaying antique items of the Dahmen family. The walls will be used to display resident artists’ work while the hay loft hall gallery shows the work of visiting artists.
Culinary classes are single-session, on Wednesday nights, with series beginning in the spring, including a four-session plant-based diet and a two-session gluten-free tutorial.
“We’ve engaged some really cool instructors,” said Miller.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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