Ethan Allen Store ‘Dropping Anchor’ At New Locale
Starting today, Tradition House has a new home and name.
The Valley home furnishings fixture, which was at 8200 E. Sprague for 45 years, is now at 5511 E. Third. The new 12,000-square-foot store will be called simply Ethan Allen, which is the name of the furniture line it carries.
The colonial design of the old white-and-green building didn’t reflect the full range of merchandise making up the new Ethan Allen line. The company now makes four different lines of furniture, some of it casual.
The new Valley store, with its beige and blue exterior, has more of a ‘90s look.
Owner John Stipe said that with the move behind him, there are no plans to move again soon.
“We’re dropping anchor,” he said. “We’ll go on here for another 45 years.”
Stipe, now 60, took over the business from his parents, W.M. “Miller” and Eve Stipe.
Technology marketing firm starts
TechXale International, a company specializing in marketing high-tech products, recently opened here.
TechXale (meaning technology for sale) is the brainchild of Valley resident Robert Roth and a silent partner.
Roth spent 25 years in the wholesale business, and his partner is a North Idaho engineer.
The company will handle both business-to-industry marketing, to sell things such as manufacturing technologies, as well as business-to-retailer marketing. That would pitch gee-whiz products to retailers on behalf of their manufacturers.
Roth said he hopes to represent enough manufacturers to be able to pitch a variety of products.
TechXale will also do custom computer-aided design work for new home shoppers. That allows a computer to simulate what a custom home will look like and how much it will cost. That takes the guesswork out of dealing with contractors, Roth said.
The company currently operates on an appointment-only basis, but plans to open a walk-in office soon. For more information, call 922-2977.
Bookstore opens
Some said it wouldn’t last, Hal Greene remembered.
Thirteen years ago he opened his discount Bible bookstore, The Sower, on the North Side. He opened a Valley store on Thursday, the 13th anniversary of that first opening day.
People said the store wouldn’t stay afloat because it sold at too large of a discount - 15 percent off Bibles, 10 percent off books, music and church curriculum supplies.
But people liked the idea so much, that the sales volume made up for the cuts. And many customers use to drive from the North Side to the Valley, making a store here viable.
The new Sower is at Valley Plaza, 13312 E. Sprague, near ShopKo.
Pawn shop remodels
Workers will finish up expansion of the Pawn 1 store in the Valley by April 22, the store’s manager said.
The business, known until last year as Century Loan, will have a showroom three times larger than the current one.
Manager Jeanne Geroux said all the extra space will be used to stock new products. “The firearms selection will grow dramatically, so will the selection of instruments,” she said. It will also feature new jewelry.
The shop traditionally dealt in used products, but has started to branch into new items, Geroux said.
Pawn 1 will continue to buy, sell and trade used items.
, DataTimes