As the year’s curtain draws to a close and the faint jingling of Santa’s sleigh bells grows ever louder, it’s a fine time to reflect back on the term’s fluctuating state of business in Sisters.
Besides the normal changes of ownership and typical ebb and flow of resort town economic tides, the newest trend seen in the annual rhythms of commerce has not been the optimistic openings and fanfare of new businesses, but the retention of them, with over a half-dozen enterprises failing to make the twelve-month milestone.
Laurie Salisbury’s Art Gallery shut up shop less than three months after a total remodel and promising summer birth, complete with a gala wine-tasting opening presided over by a hand-painted teepee and garden tables outside.
This vacant building will be the home of a new food and wine bar in 2014 as Rick and Nadean Murray sold their Cork Cellars wine shop inside Melvin’s Fir Street Market to pursue other ventures.
Another “here today, gone tomorrow” was Bandits Mercantile downtown on Cascade Avenue, which was opened in June by owners Stormy Hiatt and J.D. Gore as part of a proposed reality TV show on western biker culture. The store was shut down in August for various reasons, less than three months after opening, leaving a gaping hole at the gateway to Sisters.
A level of commitment and hard work necessary to survive the seasonal swings of Sisters is required to not fall prey to the pitfalls and perils waiting to swallow innocent businesses in their infancy. Many businesses, in an effort to avert disaster, call mid-season audibles to change the outcome of their enterprises to a more high-percentage game plan.
Happy Wok, the “Thai-nese” Asian eatery on Hood Avenue, a savory, stunning success in its first full summer, has readjusted its daytime hours, now skewed toward evening times to maximize their success in a mushy economy.
Vista Bonita Glass Art Studio has moved down the block to bunk up with Donterra Artworks after their previous building sold this summer to longtime Oregon artist and businessperson Ken Scott.
In direct contrast to the hocus pocus attitude of many new stores, Ken Scott’s Imagination Gallery on West Hood Avenue has tossed caution to the gales of winter and boldly expanded into its new territory, setting down fantastic lawn sculptures and deep roots in the community this autumn, armed with a long-term determination to guide him through the rocky channels. Scott’s 43 years as a working artist have fortified him with a depth of experience most first-timers charging into the retail arena simply do not have.
“I think this goes on everywhere but it’s accelerated by this type of cautious economy,” says former Sisters Economic Development Manager Mac Hay. “To be successful, one of the tasks needed is researching your marketplace. The potential beginner retail person needs to engage with those elements in the business world that can help them, like outreach programs at COCC or online blogs, and do some hardcore market research and look at demographics, seasonal weather patterns and market trends. If you’re passionate about your product you often overlook those crucial things.”
Invariably the first year of any business sets the foundation for future success, and that Herculean task is even more daunting in resort towns like Sisters.
Upon closer examination of this recent trend, we discover hopes hinged on wishful side projects, an abundance of city-enforced rules and fees, unrealistic expectations or simply the lack of tenacity and conviction it takes to run a small business.
Deez Nutz, a candied almond and cashew gift shop disappeared after barely a year, citing financial pressures and lack of foot traffic at their downtown location.
Oregon Outback Outfitters made a strong go of it for just over a year before regrouping and closing their Sisters store this fall, choosing to concentrate on the trade show market with their line of rugged Australian outerwear.
Southwest Treasures shut its doors after a disappointing summer, having sold Native American jewelry and trinkets from a small outlet behind B.J.’s Ice Cream. Poor visibility and an ever-changing schedule of hours may have helped lead to their demise but their absence adds to the long list of owner-operated businesses gone from Sisters this calendar year.
Tumbleweed Nut and Candy Emporium, whose windows still herald its October opening with temporary white butcher paper signs seem to contain a cautious uncertainty about the future, either that or discontent with the permanent signmakers.
Fred McCaulou of Sisters Feed Company is entering his 17th year and insists one of the secrets to opening and maintaining a business is the comprehensive creation of a viable business plan.
“You’ve gotta have an extensive business plan with careful, realistic thought put into it,” he said. “You need to go through the process and do your homework and account for as many variables as you can. If you do enough things right it allows you to hang in there.”
Many business owners and lessees opt to cut their losses early before a full calendar year passes, rather than to forge on and continue to build a business the slow, old-fashioned way.
Sue Leek, owner of Mackenzie Creek Mercantile, braves on this December, entering her fourth holiday buying season, with renewed hope, signature enthusiasm and a cheerful welcome to anyone who visits her cozy establishment. She knows all too well the harsh and heroic realities of running her own store.
“I don’t mean to be negative but I think people have a false idea of what retail is,” Leek said. “Having businesses open and shutter so fast hurts our town. For people to be parttime owners or enter into things with a “recreational retail” attitude never works. I just hate that part.
I’m lucky because customers come to me because they know I’m open, especially during the holidays and busy season when we have our guests. You have to know your market and carry what people are looking for and that takes a lot of effort and research and observation. And a friendly hello never hurt either.”
Will 2014 bring more fast exits for optimistic business owners along the downtown corridor and beyond, or will the recent cautionary tales incite entrepreneurs to devise a more measured sip of reality and give them something to cheer about when Father Time rings in another new year? It’s something to raise a toast to.
