Thirtysomething...

You meet a lot of people when you've been in business for nearly 30 years.  So who do we recognize as we approach our 30th anniversary?  Well, that's both easy AND difficult to answer...

Over the years we've met, entertained, smiled, laughed, negotiated, haggled, persuaded, comforted, talked to, and otherwise interacted with, well, a whole lot of people.  A basic estimate puts the number of people who have walked through our doors in nearly 10,900 days of doing business at over 2 million.  That's a lot of samples!!

We have customers every week who tell us their memories of visiting with their parents when they themselves were children, who are continuing the tradition by bringing in their own children.  It's especially endearing when they say they remember seeing one of our staff members in particular as a child who is still with us today.  These conversations are special, and a lasting currency of our efforts to be the best we can on every opportunity.

We've seen good, bad, ugly, and most things in between; and if we'd have the chance to do it all over again we would unequivocally respond with "YES!!".  What a journey we've had, and how fortunate we are to have the support of vendors, employees, bankers, city officials, landlords, and most importantly, our customers.

On this occasion of our 30th year, while it's nice to reminisce and reflect, what we most passionately understand and care about is the importance of our future.  We understand that to have the opportunity to celebrate 30 years takes incredibly hard work, buckets of sweat equity, and certainly some luck; we also understand that to celebrate ANOTHER 30 takes twice as much of what it took to get us here.

So how do we stay relevant, current, and on the leading edge of our business?  By taking to heart a special poem that includes the saying "Yesterday is history.  Tomorrow is a Mystery.  Today is a Gift. That's why it is called the present".

Thank you for being a part of something we hold near and dear to our hearts - now won't you join us for another 30 years?