Owner says shop friendly, convenient

After Jessey Nagra kept driving by an empty storefront at the corner of Bowdish Road and Sprague Avenue in Spokane Valley, he decided he needed to do something about it.

The building, which he’d heard was once a 7-Eleven, was a pawn shop for many years before becoming vacant.

“I didn’t want to see it empty. We don’t want Spokane corners to get dumpy,” said Nagra. “I’ve lived here all my life and always thought there was nothing in the area to get a quick soda.”

So, after about $80,000 in improvements, Nagra opened Sam’s Stop N Shop No. 4 in March.

The Nagra family owns and runs three other Sam’s Stop N Shop stores, two in Oregon and one in Rathdrum. The stores are named after Nagra’s dad, Sam. “When I was a kid, my dad owned a couple liquor stores in Sacramento named Jessey’s Food and Liquor,” said Jessey Nagra with a laugh, explaining it was his dad’s turn to have namesake stores.

While the Spokane Valley store is the fourth location, Nagra said he didn’t intend for the number to be on the sign. “The number 4 was a mistake,” he said, adding that he isn’t going to change it now. “Maybe it is good luck.”

Since the convenience store does not have fuel to draw in customers, Nagra said his goal for the year was to break even by 2010 and he is on track to meet that goal. “So far it’s been word of mouth, people telling their neighbors,” he said, explaining that he wants the store to be known as a “friendly good ol’ place to come down.”

The store has also benefitted because the area has an appreciation for locally owned small businesses, he said. “The small businesses around us support each other.”

Sam’s stocks typical convenience store fare, from beer, wine and soda to snacks and candy. “Anything as a gas station but without the gas,” said Nagra, adding that he is happy to stock items customers request. “I want customers to feel they are appreciated. If they need a special bottle of wine, I’ll order it.”

What he hopes sets his store apart, said Nagra, is the friendly customer service. “I like the personal side, chit-chatting with people. I try to know about customer’s lives, their kids and dogs.”

It is also Nagra’s goal to be on a first-name basis with many customers, and during a recent interview, he stopped several times to greet customers by name.

Charlie Arntson, for example, said he has shopped at the store regularly since the day it opened. “I’ve known Jessey forever,” he explained. “It is a good little store to shop in because I like the people that run it.”

Since Nagra grew up in the area and attended Central Valley schools, he said he does already know many customers by name and has enjoyed seeing several of his former teachers come in.

The store’s target clientele is families, said Nagra. “I want a clean atmosphere. No porno. Nothing like that.”

Now Nagra is planning to open another Sam’s Stop N Shop at the corner of Mansfield Avenue and Pines Road in Spokane Valley. This one, he said, will have fuel. He said he hopes that store will be open by August.