 |
Press Release:
|
|
|
Starting a business is a tricky endeavor that takes a lot of time, money and patience. Many entrepreneurs with store-owning aspirations plan for months, even years, before finally opening their doors to the public.
But John Kirk, 53, and his wife, Teresa, 47, of Dorena have never been like most entrepreneurs.
Owners and operators of Kirk & Family Mercantile - Dorena's lone convenience store, located at 37570 Row River Road - the Kirks met at Hauser Community Church in their hometown of North Bend. They started dating in 1975 when teresa was a senior at North Bend High School. John, who was six years older, had spent two years on active duty in the Navy and attended Oregon State University from 1977-1978 to study secondary education, industrial arts.
Before he finished the program, John landed a job with Boeing and prepared to move to Seattle - but not without Teresa. They were married on July 1, 1978 and John started what would become a 26-year tenure with the airplane manufacturer.
"I was going to stay there five years at the most," John said.
Formerly the Row River Store - a fact recognizable by a hand made sign that still hangs above the door - the Kirk's shop has everything you would expect to see in convenience store, minus lottery machines and an ATM. The shelves are full of snacks, soda and beer are kept cold in several large refrigerator units, an espresso machine stands ready to give customers a caffeinated jolt, stacks of cigarettes line the wall behind the register and a single gas pump outside provides fuel for passing motorists. The Kirks have added many items that customers have either requested or commissioned them to sell, including garlic braids, motor oil, used videos and DVDs, hand made art work and more.
The Kirks inventory might sound strange, but nothing about the store - not even their acquisition of the building - has been normal.
"We were driving down on our way to a family reunion and we saw the building for sale," Teresa said. "It was pure insanity that led us to buy it. Our kids call it our 'mid-life' crisis."
According to her husband, it was perfect timing.
"I used to counsel new employees when I was at Boeing," John said. "I would tell them, "If your job isn't fun anymore, leave, cause it'll kill you!'"
"I didn't see anything else I wanted to do where I was. Then we stumbled across this place and one thing led to another."
By November 2003, the 2,500 square foot store was theirs. They and their four children - Jonathan, 20; Cassandra, 18; Benjamin, 16; and Kattarin, 14 - worked several months to get the store ready for business. The building - which had sat vacant for more than two years, needed a major overhaul. The family worked together to paint walls, clean floors, fix shelves and upgrade the plumbing and electrical wiring. They opened the store on Memorial Day weekend 2004.
The Kirks - who live in a two bedroom apartment above the store with their two youngest children, three cats and two dogs - hope to expand the store by opening a coffee shop in one of the store's two adjacent spaces.(The other is a a small area known as The Break Room that once housed the Dorena Post Office. Open from 6 a.m.-10 p.m. - the room provides passing cyclists and pedestrians a place to rest and grab a snack or drink from one of two vending machines.) According to John, the approximately 800-square foot room was once the Row River Tavern, a local hangout with a reputation the Kirks - who neither drink or smoke - don't care to duplicate.
"We really want this to be a place where people can come and have a nice time," John said. "From talking with the members of the community, the bar had a reputation for fights and shady characters."
For now, the sore takes up most of their time, its doors open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday though Saturday and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays. Their kids are all students - Johnathon and Cassandra at Ecola Bible College in Cannon Beach and Western Oregon University in Monmouth, respectively, and Benjamin and Kattarin a sophomore and freshman at Cottage Grove High School - but help out whenever they can. According to John, the store has always been a family affair.
"My great-grandfather, John Henry Kirk, owned a store in the original town of Dorena," John said. "The Kirk family lost it during the Depression, but it operated from about 1860 to sometime in the 1930s."
John's grandfather, Emit Kirk, was the store's final owner. Seven decades later, John is proud to carry on the tradition of his forefathers.
"We love being a part of the community. They've really adopted us," John said. "I want to get a sign that says, 'Kirk Family Mercantile: Established 1860, Re-established 2003."
That sentiment and appreciation of the store's rebirth is echoed by the steady arrival of customers, most of whom the Kirks call by their first names. Many patrons, including 26-year old Andrea Downey and daughter Chelsey, 7, stop by about once a day.
"It was well missed when it wasn't here," Downey said. "A lot of people here don't have the transportation to leave town for the things they need. And I love their Mochas."
And while the Kirks' path back to their small-business roots has sometimes been bumpy, they're certainly enjoying the perks.
"Who else can sit and talk with their spouse in front of their place of work and drink coffee?" Teresa said. "I love being able to work with John. We're always with each other."
Contact:
Kirk & Family Mercantile
John & Teresa Kirk,
owners
Phone: 541-946-2200
###
Original text: Josh Alder
Reprint by permission of Cottage Grove Sentinel
www.JTKirkEnterprises.com
Copyright © 2006 J.T. Kirk Enterprises PO Box 94, Dorena, Oregon 97434 |