Callahan’s Firehouse gets city award

Published 2:21 pm Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Six years into his ever-growing business, Callahan’s Firehouse Studio, owner Callahan McVay received recognition from city hall this past week.

Mayor Fred McCarthy presented McVay with a framed certificate in honor of his blown-glass artwork studio on Second Street. McVay leases the building from the city, which was an old Langley fire station before being converted into a rental property.

“This is long overdue,” McCarthy said during the Sept. 8 city council meeting.

“If there’s an ambassador for the plaza, it’s Callahan McVay,” he added, referring to the pedestrian plaza on Second Street.

The mayor also praised McVay’s business savvy and bold risk of expanding the Firehouse’s operating hours from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., which the mayor said was “unheard of” in Langley.

McVay thanked the city and noted that his business now employs three full-time glass blowers plus a few baristas to handle front-of-shop coffee and snack sales.

Earlier in the year, McVay sought to purchase the building, but the city council later decided it was not interested in selling. McVay’s lease will last another four years before he can exercise an option for another 10 years.