Mind Body Soul (Part 1)
Jenee’ Molacek, Mind
Jenee’ is a Trophy Club resident and owner of The Nest & Roost. Jenee’s dream was to offer a place for little ones to play and parents to chill in the 76262 area. She took a big leap by investing in herself and opened The Nest & Roost off of Byron Nelson Boulevard in Roanoke in August of 2018 and was thriving. However in 2020, a gathering place - no matter how cute - was not the place to be during a pandemic and recommended social distancing. Months went by and Jenee’ was optimistic that she would be allowed to re-open but knew that without a steady income and
having to pay rent on an empty building she was going to be facing some challenges. In the end, Jenee’ was forced to make an extremely hard decision by giving up on her dream and closed her doors for good.
But this decision for Jenee’ turned out to be a huge blessing to disguise.
Even though The Nest & Roost was no longer, Jenee’ was not ready to give up her dream. “I was like, What can I do? I'm paying storage fees and I have all this stuff just sitting in storage,” said Jenee’. And that’s when she decided to take her brick-and-mortar business to something much more innovative and fitting for the time. Jenee’ loaded up her play equipment and became a mobile playscape. Word of mouth quickly spread and Jenee was setting up in garages and backyards all across the area for parties and events. Instead of throwing in the towel, Jenee’ adapted her business model and was able to create something new. A mindset of determination to keep going sometimes means adapting your dream.
However, this isn’t where Jenee’s story ends.
Jenee’ had her eye on a certain quaint yellow house on Oak Street since she moved to the area. Unfortunately, there was another business in that spot so she settled for the Byron Nelson Boulevard location. But she just couldn’t give up the thought that the house on Oak Street would be the perfect place for The Nest & Roost someday. During a casual conversation with a business associate in the fall of 2020, Jenee’ was presented with the opportunity to take over the lease on a piece of property on Oak Street. It just so happens that the lease belonged to the little yellow house on Oak Street.
“I get chills right now, just think about,” says Jenee’. “It just fell in my lap. I just kind of felt like it was a God thing, like I was it was supposed to happen.”
But the road wasn’t going to be easy. Starting over again, Jenee’ set her mind to doing things even better this time. She encountered plenty of stumbling blocks, but she was determined to not give up - not when her dream was right there within arms reach.
Jenee’ exhibited the mental toughness necessary to pick up the pieces and rebuild a dream - not once, but twice. “I've had really good days, and I've had really, really low days. I'm human, I'm a mom, a wife, a woman, and I have all the emotions that we all have. Like there are days where I can say the worst things to myself like, it's not going to work, or you just need to give up. But my biggest thing is you have to be more afraid of missing out on an opportunity rather than being afraid of failure.”
And Jenee’s determination did pay off. The Nest & Roost reopened at its new location at 412 North Oak Street in February featuring a commercial-grade indoor playset, tons of imaginative play toys, a build room, a chalkboard room, and a parents lounge with a coffee and tea bar as well as wi-fi! An additional feature of the new location is that there is an outdoor play space which Jenee intends to add a sensory area. The Nest & Roost is available for drop-in play, private parties, Parents-Night-Out events, and much more.