On July 23, Stratus Networks did something we don’t do often: we stopped, gathered everyone in one place, and celebrated. The occasion was our new headquarters at 416 Main Street, right in the heart of downtown Peoria, and the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce joined us to make it official with a ribbon cutting and open house.
It would be easy to call this “just a new office.” It isn’t. Stratus has served Greater Peoria since 1998, and we’ve grown from a hometown provider into a company operating our own fiber network across the state and serving customers around the country. And it has always mattered to us that our front door stayed on Main Street.
Darren Feder, CEO of Stratus Networks, commented on the move:
“Peoria is our hometown, and it was important for us to continue investing here, moving our headquarters to Main Street strengthens our connection to the community and marks an important milestone for the people of Stratus.”
Chamber members, civic and community leaders, customers, and partners came out to tour the new space and meet the team behind the network. We’re grateful to the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce for helping put the event together, and to everyone who showed up to celebrate with us. (You can watch WMBD-TV’s coverage of this event here.)
Founder and board member John Petrakis put it simply:
“We have grown into a national company, but our roots remain here in Greater Peoria. We are thankful for the employees, customers, partners, and community members who have supported Stratus Networks over the years and helped take the company to new levels.”
This move doesn’t change who we are or how we work. It’s still the same local team, the same fiber network, the same commitment to keeping Greater Peoria businesses connected. What’s different is that now, when we say Peoria is home, we can point to Main Street and mean it literally.
Now, a little fun.
If you’ve never watched a group of network engineers and business leaders attempt to coordinate a ribbon cutting, you’re missing out. Ceremonial scissors are, by design, comically oversized, built for hands twice the size of any human’s, and sharp enough to cut off a toe if dropped. There was a green ribbon, a countdown, a confetti cannon, a moment of genuine suspense over whether the blades would meet fabric, and then a room full of applause and celebration when they finally did. It turns out we can build fiber networks spanning 2,000 miles and still need a second try with a pair of scissors.
Stratus Networks CEO Darren Feder celebrates the ribbon cutting.