The building was completely remodeled it to fit Johnston’s business needs and last week she hosted an open house.
The 32-year-old said after four years of renting a retail space for $750 a month, she wanted to open a brick-and-mortar location in Monroe’s “intimate downtown setting.”
There was only one problem: No such locations were listed on the market.
After years of contacting the building’s owner, who happens to be her State Farm customer, he agreed to sell the building.
The 3,000-square-foot building is more than four times the size of her former location, Johnston said.
The increased space allows her two full-time and one part-time employees more privacy when discussing insurance options in their cubicles and accommodates her growing business.
The new building, located across the street from the City Building, has increased her company’s exposure due to the amount of traffic on Main Street, she said.
“Location, location, location,” she said, repeating words used in the real estate business.
She closed on the building in June, hired three construction crews who completed the major renovations in six weeks. She spent $35,000 on the remodel.
Now when she drives from her home in Miamisburg, where she lives with her husband of eight years, Mitchell, she looks forward to start her day and see her name on the side of the business, an “ultimate goal,” she said.
She called the Monroe location her “forever building.”
Johnston said she will retire a State Farm agent. She graduated from Centerville High School in 2009, then earned her psychology degree from Eastern Kentucky University in 2013. She worked for Joe Fisher’s State Farm agency in West Carrollton from 2013-2019.
Over the years, the location at the corner of South Main Street and Church Street has served as several diverse business. Among those businesses: a blacksmith shop, Meeker’s Garage, Diamond Sports, a sports memorabilia store, and a hair salon.
There is a horse shoe that hangs in the building.
It will remain there for good luck, Johnston said with a smile.
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