It was a no brainer for the staff at Zao Island to walk across the street and ask Jack Hines of Hines Plumbing Inc. to help out with a project.
For the last few years, Partner and General Manager Ryan Wright and the staff of the Zao Island have been eyeing the remodel of their men’s and women’s bathrooms. The entire building has been reconstructed and improved, adding in new games and space, and they are currently having the driveway repaved.
So, when it came time for the bathrooms, Wright, of course, went to Hines.
“We have wanted to re-do them for a long time and we just didn’t have the building space to increase the bathroom size,” Wright said. So instead, Wright transformed an old party room into the women’s bathroom, making it larger and more accommodating.
The two-stall bathroom grew into a four-stall bathroom, with room for a baby-changing station, a double sink, and a plush chair to rest after an afternoon of games and miniature golf. The bright blue colors help liven the place up and off-set the freshly painted white walls.
“The women’s room is very comfortable and nice for mothers,” Wright said.
The men’s room, though still smaller than the women’s, is just as nice. The men’s room has two stalls and two open stalls with red-colored doors. Both bathrooms include automatic faucets and hand dryers. Plus, both rooms include a long, horizontal mirror and there is an additional mirror in the women’s room.
“They both look very modern with the sinks and mirrors,” he added.
Hines Plumbing is located two buildings west of Zao Island. The entire project to remodel both bathrooms took about a month and a half, which also included additional plumbing work.
“He gutted our old plumbing, which was something we really needed,” Wright said. “It is nice to have that kind of work done by someone who knows what they are doing.”
The friendly interaction between these Valparaiso businesses is just one more example of how close and supportive the Valpo community can be when needed. When a plumbing problem arises, the Zao Island staff calls Hines, and when Jack Hines’ son was looking for a job years ago, it was at Zao Island where he applied and was hired. This little city of Valpo is intertwined and webbed together, connecting each and every business and individual to better serve the future of Northwest Indiana.
Check out the bathrooms next time you stop at Zao Island for an afternoon of arcade games, laser tag, miniature golf, or just lunch at the Colada’s Pizza restaurant.