Dashco offers something for everyone
RATHDRUM, Idaho – Kevin Randles owns the busiest corner in Rathdrum, and that’s just how he planned it.
With a convenience store, Conoco gas station, video store, liquor store, self-serve laundry, carwash, espresso stand, used car lot, car and truck rentals, pay-day loans and the best waffle cones in North Idaho, Dashco provides one-stop shopping to folks traveling along state Highway 53.
Randles, the third owner of the business, purchased it in 1997. In the 10 years since, he has updated equipment, added businesses and services and enlarged the property to include 1.5 acres, with 1,000 feet of highway frontage.
Dashco offers something for everyone. Locals can wash their clothes while they rent a movie, fill up the rig, pay their phone bill, drop off a package, mail their house payment, grab a bottle for the weekend, wash the truck or send a fax. Or they might just sit back and read a newspaper while sipping an espresso or licking one of those big hand-dipped waffle cones while they wait for their clothes to dry.
Truckers stop if they need a truck permit or just a cup of coffee and a chat before they hit the road again. Other people stop to grab some goodies, fill their gas and propane tanks and load their ice chests before they head off in search of North Idaho adventures.
With Dashco’s 14 employees and more than 17 businesses and services, it’s hard to imagine how one man handles it all.
He doesn’t, according to Randles. “I would not be in the position I am in today without my employees. Bottom line.
“My main crew has been with me since I purchased the store. Lisa Harrington, Phyllis Van Demark, Jean McCrite and her daughter Kelly McCrite have all been here for 10 years, and I truly owe them a lot of gratitude because I could never have done it without them,” Randles said.
It also helps that Randles works more than 60 hours every week, is geared toward customer service and is a pretty sharp businessman.
Raised in Missoula in a family of 12 brothers and sisters, Randles learned to fend for himself early. He graduated from Montana Tech with a degree in business and became an entrepreneur at age 21.
After several successful business ventures, Randles found himself with two Subway stores in Seattle and the desire to look for a business where he could afford to purchase both the land and the building. “I spent a year looking and then I came across Dashco. I looked at a lot of different businesses at the time, but this one was the right fit. So I sold the Subway stores and bought this,” he said.
Randles’ favorite thing at Dashco? His flowers.
“I plant around 4,600 marigolds each year, and it really is a love. Right now, this time of year, it’s all I’m looking forward to – getting back into it and planting again. I absolutely love getting out there, getting in the dirt.”
Randles, who lives in Hayden with wife, Terry; son, Andrew; and daughter, Margaret, believes in giving back to his community. He considers Rathdrum’s Thrift Store and Food Bank the No. 1 place money needs to go, and he helps out year-round.
Randles gives a tank of gas to referrals from the food bank and has given a few cars to those in need. He also is the benevolent spirit behind Rathdrum’s Secret Santa program and has sponsored the Hauser Lake Fun Run for several years. Last year, Randles helped organize a motorcycle show and sale, which provided the community with a new event and raised more than $500 for the food bank.
Randles says he enjoys his work because his customers are great. One of his favorite things to do is to put in some Billy-Bob teeth (Dashco sells them, of course) and then ask kids for a lick of their ice cream cones. He says the girls always say no, but the boys usually hold their cones up for a lick.
Never one to rest, Randles has added yet another business enterprise. Six months ago, he became licensed to perform marriages in Idaho. He hasn’t performed one yet, but he says he’s ready. And in the entrepreneurial spirit he embodies, he adds, “I can marry them, and I can divorce them. I’ve been the notary for several divorces, so if they get tired of each other, I can take care of that, too.”