CWU alumni become integral to local business community (part 1)

Staying in Ellensburg isn’t the end goal for every Central Washington University graduate, but those who have chosen to stick around wouldn’t have it any other way.

Some Wildcat alumni land jobs in schools, government agencies, and health care clinics that allow them to stay in town. Others catch on with local small businesses. But most CWU alums looking to make Ellensburg their permanent home have to get creative.

“The dream is to go to Central, graduate, and then stay here,” said Megan West (’13), owner of Claim Clothing. “I remember when I was a student, talking to people who wanted to stay here but didn’t know how. My husband and I grew up nearby in Selah, and we had no intention of moving to the west side. So, we got to thinking, ‘what’s a way we can make it work here?’”

Abby Alegria (’16) remembers passing through Ellensburg with her mom on the first stop of a Northwest college tour. She completed her other scheduled campus visits, but she was sold from the moment she rolled through town.

“I told my mom, ‘This is it. We don’t have to go anywhere else,’” said Alegria, who owns Pearl Street Books and Gifts. “I just knew this is where I belonged.”

David (’08, ‘11) and Erin Chamberlin (’12) can relate to that down-home feeling Ellensburg offers. The Coldwell Banker real estate brokers didn’t know all along that they wanted to stay, but as the years went on, settling down in their college town felt like a natural next step.

“We both thought we were just going to go to college here, but we ended up really enjoying living in Ellensburg,” David Chamberlin said. “It took us a little longer than some people to realize this is what we wanted, but it has turned out to be a perfect fit.”

Read on to learn more about these three alumni business owners. Four more CWU alumni entrepreneurs will be featured in part two early next month.

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Megan West

Claim Clothing
315 N. Pearl St.

Claim Clothing celebrated its 11^th anniversary in May, but when Megan West graduated from CWU in 2013, she had no idea the business would end up being so successful.

The Apparel, Textiles and Merchandising (ATM) alumna had no formal business background, although she was fortunate to have four years of on-the-job training at the Wildcat Shop.

“I worked in the apparel department all four years, and it was a really unique experience,” West said. “I got to take all of the things I was learning in class and implement them in my job.”

At the time, the Wildcat Shop featured a specialty women’s clothing boutique, and West saw how popular those styles were to her peers. She and her husband, Jared, got to thinking about what it would be like to take that boutique concept and expand it.

“I was three months from graduation and thought, ‘What am I going to do next?’” she said. “I saw how well the boutique on campus performed, and I figured the community would support something else like it downtown. I knew I could be happy running my own business, and Jared was like, ‘let’s do it!’”

As luck would have it, the couple won an iPad in a drawing through their bank. They took it as a sign.

“We decided, ‘That’s it! It was meant to be,’” she said with a laugh.

West spent the next 10 months developing her business plan and was selected by a downtown business committee as one of the new tenants of the historic Geddis Building.

She moved into the Pearl Street space in early 2014 and opened Claim Clothing on May 4 of that year.

“It’s a beautiful space with lots of windows,” West said. “It feels really approachable, and it fits in really well with the other downtown businesses. We had to put a lot of work into it, but we still feel like we made the right choice.”

One year after she opened her doors, West was named the 2015 Entrepreneur of the Year in Washington. She is extremely proud of what she has built and hopes her business continues to be a fashion destination for women in Ellensburg and across the country.

“We have a lot of loyal customers in Central Washington, but we have also shipped orders to more than 30 states,” said West, who received the Business Leadership Award from the Ellensburg Downtown Association in 2021. “I made a lot of sacrifices in my 20s, but all of that hard work has paid off. I’ve hired more than 35 girls — all Central students — and I’ve helped them gain professional experience. That means as much to me as the success of the business.”

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Abby Alegria

Pearl Street Books and Gifts
421 N. Pearl St.

Abby Alegria had no idea what the future held when she started working one day a week at Pearl Street Books and Gifts in late 2021.

Last year, when the former owner indicated that she was thinking about retiring and moving away, Alegria casually said, “I would buy it.”

“She started getting more serious about selling the business and asked me if I was serious,” said Alegria, a 2016 CWU psychology alumna. “I got to thinking more about it and was like, ‘Why not?’”

The conversations picked up over the winter, and Alegria officially took over the storied downtown business on May 1. If the first four months are any indication, she’s just getting started.

“This community is the best. They really are,” she said. “They have been really accepting of the change in ownership, and they seem to be happy that it was me who bought it. Some people were worried when they heard it was for sale, but since I have been around for a few years, we have gotten to know each other. I know what the customers are looking for.”

Before taking over the shop, Alegria was working there about three days a week. Now it’s closer to six, but she only works half days on Sundays. She’s also got a loyal team of employees who understand the needs of the clientele.

“I’ve made a few changes, like doing more events, and we’ve been seeing a lot of people coming in,” Alegria said. “We’ve also tried to expand our product selection by offering more book accessories, like bags, bookmarks, lights. Our goal is to offer the whole package for book lovers.”

Alegria is a book lover herself, but most of all, she’s a people person. That’s what drew her to psychology in the first place. And while she chose not to pursue a career in the field, she still genuinely enjoys engaging with people across the community every day.

“People are fascinating to me,” she said. “I love learning about people’s lives, and I felt like I could do that all day long. But I didn’t necessarily see myself as a therapist, so I kind of floundered for a while.”

Alegria worked at Jerrol’s for a few years after graduation and eventually became a foster parent with her partner. The couple has adopted two children, ages 12 and 3, and they hope to eventually adopt the 14-month-old currently in their care.

With three kids and a small business, life is busier than it has ever been for Alegria. She feels truly fulfilled, and best of all, she gets to live in a place that has become her forever home.

“I fell in love with Ellensburg the moment I stepped out of the car back in 2011,” she said. “I feel the same way about it now, and I have no desire to ever leave.”

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David and Erin Chamberlin

Chamberlin Team Real Estate
508 N. Main St.

When David and Erin Chamberlin were attending Central 15 years ago, they got to know many of their neighbors — and each other — when they worked at The Palace restaurant in downtown Ellensburg.

David was pursuing a master’s degree in microbiology and Erin was studying to become a teacher, but they wanted to find something they could do together and, most importantly, remain in Ellensburg.

“I didn’t want to become a biologist and David didn’t want to become a teacher, so we started talking about going into real estate together,” Erin said. “It took us a couple of years to figure out what that would look like, but we took our real estate training together in 2014 and started our own business so we could continue working together.”

A year later, the Chamberlins opened a real estate business under the Coldwell Banker umbrella and have carved out their own niche in the town they became enamored with during their college years.

“We just fell in love with the small-town vibes,” David said. “You get to know everyone so well, and they become your neighbors and friends. They learn to trust you and rely on you, and that means so much to us. We feel very fortunate to have gotten to know so many people here.”

Both David and Erin grew up in the Puget Sound area, and they admit they never seriously considered trying to break into such a crowded real estate market. As Chamberlin Team Real Estate celebrates its 10-year anniversary this year, staying in Ellensburg turned out to be one of the best business decisions the couple could have ever made.

“We would be a very different business if we were doing the exact same thing over there,” David said. “After doing this for 10 years, and living here for longer than that, we couldn’t imagine our business being anywhere else.”

The couple now has two children, ages 8 and 11 months, and are fully immersed in the Ellensburg community. David is the chair of the Kittitas County Chamber of Commerce and teaches classes at Ellensburg Crossfit. As a fun family activity, they host the annual Ellensburg Haunted House Driving Tour together.

Taking everything into consideration, the Chamberlins are exactly where they want to be — and still working together every step of the way.

“Working together has a lot of perks,” Erin said. “We have a lot of flexibility, and during this phase in our lives, that is exactly what we need. As far as we’re concerned, it pretty much can’t be beat.”

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Editor’s note: More alumni entrepreneurs in downtown Ellensburg will be featured on Central Today next week.