Three Baker businesses expanding to other cities

The Stones opened their first drive-through coffee place in 1995 in a trailer at the Lube Depot parking lot. Next week they’ll open their sixth coffee shop. Jason Stone takes his shift with the roasting process in Baker City. (Baker City Herald/S. John Collins)

Buoyed by stronger than expected sales during the recession of 2009, Scott and Diana Thatcher, owners of Thatcher’s Ace Hardware, and Beverly Calder of Bella Main Street Market are making plans to open new stores in La Grande this spring and summer.

While the Thatchers and Calder are expanding to the west, Sorbenots coffee owners Jason, Phil and Andrea Stone are opening their newest Sorbenots coffee shop next week at 10901 W. Franklin St. in Boise.

“It’s actually kind of a neat deal, with the economy slumping like it is, that all three of us (local businesses) are able to branch out,” said Scott Thatcher. “I think that’s very encouraging.”

“Basically for Diana and I, this is our 12th year here in Baker City, and we have been successful here,” Thatcher said. “We’re not ready to slow down. It is a challenge for us, something to keep the blood flowing.

“Fortunately, with the kind of business we are in, when the economy gets sluggish, people tend to fix things instead of buying new. We are in the fix-it business.”

Calder said she’s been looking for just the right spot to open a Bella in La Grande to serve a loyal following of La Grande customers who drive to Baker City or place orders by phone or e-mail. When she walked into the La Grande building being vacated by Don’s Jewelry, Calder said she knew it was the perfect spot.

“When I walked into Don’s Jewelry when they were clearing it out, I said I can visualize my store here. There’s something magical about it,” Calder said. “Baker will still be the Bella’s Mother Ship, with a greater diversity of products.”

At the La Grande Bella’s, Calder said she’s planning to specialize with a wide selection of cookware and small home appliances.

“We’ll have more cookware and small appliances, and they’ll be displayed out of the box,” Calder said. “It will be a satellite store.”

She’s hoping to open this spring, and by offering a different selection of items at the two stores, Calder said she is hoping to draw La Grande shoppers to Baker City, as well as Baker City shoppers to La Grande.

As for her keys to success during a recession, Calder said she believes it’s a combination of choosing the right mix of products that people want to buy, along with providing the highest level of customer service and education so customers learn how to use the products they buy, including specialty foods such as 49 varieties of garlic.

“We educate people about everything we sell. We teach them what they can do with it, what it goes with and the right way to use it,” Calder said.

She opened for business in a small building on Resort Street in 1997, moved to the Mint Building on Main Street in 1998 and then into the current Main Street location in 2003.

In La Grande her new store is also on Main Street, in a building that housed The New York Store in the 1920s.

“I like the feeling of Main Street,” Calder said. “You won’t ever find a Bella’s in a shopping mall.”

Thatcher’s Ace Hardware

Thatcher said Ace Hardware is not a franchise like McDonald’s. He and Diana own the Baker City store, which they risked everything they owned to purchase 12 years ago.

“We started with three employees when we opened. Now we have 25,” Thatcher said.

Their La Grande store will open next summer in the former Emporium building. That space is currently occupied by The Dollar Tree, which is moving to a different location in the complex that includes Albertsons and Rite Aid.

Thatcher said they’ll add 15 employees at the La Grande location, bringing their total to 40 between the two stores.

As for their secrets to success, Diana said “Scott and I have created an environment where people like to come here.”

In addition to the service provided by the staff, the Thatchers said “stocking the things people want to buy” is probably the most critical factor in running a successful business.

At the La Grande store, the Thatchers will have 1,000 more square feet of retail space (10,500 square feet compared to 9,500 square feet in Baker City), and the inventory will be focused on hardware, plumbing, electrical, tools and paint.

“We are in the top 20 (Ace Hardware stores) in the nation in paint sales at the Baker store,” Thatcher said. He credits that success to Craig Binder, who will be promoted to manager of the La Grande store. He currently manages the paint department and is assistant manager at the Baker City store.

The Thatchers also credit their Baker City store manager, Erving Logan, for helping make the company successful enough to branch out with a new store during a recession.

Hiring good staff and retaining them by providing opportunities for them to succeed and advance, combined with a philosophy to “treat people the way they want to be treated,” have helped create the environment that makes Thatcher’s Ace Hardware an inviting place to shop, Diana said.      

While gun sales are big business at the Baker City store, guns won’t be part of the initial inventory in La Grande, but the Thatchers are planning a 4,000-square-foot lawn and garden section outside.

With two stores, the Thatchers said they’ll be able to purchase in larger volumes, which should translate to even lower prices for customers.

A growing coffee business

Since opening their first coffee shop in 1995 inside a trailer at the Lube Depot parking lot, the owners of Sorbenots — Phil and Andrea Stone and Jason Stone —have expanded from Baker City with shops in La Grande, Ontario, Pendleton and Hermiston.

Next week they’ll open their first Sorbenots in Boise, Idaho.

“We’ve been looking to open a Sorbenots in Boise for some time. This was just a good opportunity for us. We think it is a good location,” Stone said.

He said Sorbenots already has a good following among Boise residents who stop at the other five locations, so they’re expecting to be busy from the time the doors open next week.

“In a down economy, it’s important to provide a place people look forward to coming. It’s part of a routine they look forward to no matter what is going on in their lives,” said Jason Stone.

“We want every visit to Sorbenots to be a pleasant, personal experience for each customer,” Stone said.  

He said serving quality drinks and training staff to develop relationships with customers are the keys to success that have allowed Sorbenots to expand.

“Our staff is trained to greet every customer who comes through the door and show an interest in them — find out if they are traveling on business or pleasure,” Stone said.

He said noticing certain facts — what a customer does for a living, what car they drive or if they have kids — helps staff relate to the customers on subsequent visits.

Also, every drink offered on the menu was perfected by the Stone family before being offered at the stores.

“Duplication — making sure every single drink is made the same in all five locations — is critical to the success of a chain business,” he said.