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When Taylor Stokes opened Stōko coworking space in downtown Little Rock in 2022, she knew that cultivating community was going to be a big focus.
Located at 610 President Clinton Ave. (the building that formerly housed Conway-based coffee shop Zeteo), Stōko is also home to the second location of East Village coffee shop Fidel & Co., and recently began serving a limited food menu. The open and collaborative space is perfect for remote or hybrid workers looking to get out of the house without losing the feeling of home.
“I attended a creative conference about seven years ago where the idea was introduced to me,” Stokes said. “I was fascinated by the concept of providing a space where others could pursue their own dreams and passions. And if they aren’t in the entrepreneurial world, a place where people didn’t feel siloed just because they work alone or at home by themselves. Looking further into the idea, you also see how great places like this are for small businesses that may not be able to lease and furnish their own offices. The idea was to provide a space that is fully furnished and equipped with all of the office essentials, so all you have to do is show up ready to work.”
Although the coworking space concept was new to Stokes, she already had a lot of friends who were working remotely in 2019, and her employer at the time — Eric Rob & Isaac marketing agency — was remote one day a week.
“People that were freelancing and doing it full time, I just thought could really benefit from something like that here in Little Rock,” Stokes said. “It just gets lonely to work by yourself. And then COVID hit. And I thought, ‘Well, this will never work.’ I had the whole business plan put together, and I was about to start approaching people about it. And then I was looking at buildings when COVID hit, thinking, ‘This will never work,’ and not knowing that it would be the perfect launching pad since everyone would be working remotely. Some forever, some for just a few years, but everyone was wanting to get out of their house.”
As founder and owner, Stokes has really thought of everything for curating the membership-based office environment. Amenities include conference rooms, phone booths, a fully equipped podcast room, a kitchenette where members can store and prepare their lunches, and unlimited drip coffee from Fidel & Co. The two conference rooms are fully equipped with video conferencing and screen-sharing capabilities. Because home offices, coffee shops, cubicles and corporate offices can all be too noisy to take a phone call, Stōko has three phone booths you can step into that are equipped with sound softening panels and perfect lighting to help you look and sound your best when taking a Zoom call. Beyond that, they rent parking passes for the River Market Parking Garage, as well as mailbox rentals that help keep your home life separate from work. They also have onsite document shredding, printing services, and storage space for extra filing cabinets or other products that need to be stored.
“The whole goal was to provide a community for people that needed community as the world got a lot darker, and it got a lot lonelier,” Stokes said. “I just wanted it to be a warm and welcoming place. We spend most of our days at our job, eight hours every day, some people longer. The goal was to provide a space that people could have the best part of coworkers. You know, you don’t have the office drama. You just get your lunch buddies and people to sit around the water cooler with or grab a cup of coffee or walk down the street on a nice day. It’s been cool to watch a lot of those friendships form.”
There are currently 75 members, but there are also day passes available.
Stokes said the diverse clientele is one of the things that has surprised her the most. “I figured it would be more creative businesses,” she said. “But honestly, it’s such a mix of people. We have financial firms, we have nonprofits, we have developers. We have a bunch of entrepreneurs, some journalists, and software developers. You get all types of people in different industries. And I think people who I wouldn’t have guessed to be good friends have become good friends; there are surprising connections.
“I always say it’s a place that shouldn’t be. I worked really hard for it, but the pieces all matched up and fell into place with really perfect timing.”
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