|
Odell supermarket owners
mark 25 years
Photo by Kirby
Neumann-Rea
At noon one recent day, Kathy and John Alley pause before the
lunch rush, in front of their store, which John began managing
in 1981. The front entrance faced Odell Highway, to the east
until expansion in 1992.
The Alleys also own Clem’s Country Store and Laundromat in the
same building. |
|
By KIRBY NEUMANN-REA
News editor
April 19,
2006
ODELL — John and Kathy Alley are enjoying their business after a
quarter-century running Odell’s supermarket, Mid Valley Market.
“We’re really an agriculture-oriented business,” said John
Alley, who left a corporate grocery job to become manager of
what was then a mid-sized supermarket, on April 15, 1981.
“If the farmers have a good crop, they and their families
(workers) do well. That means we do well,” he said.
“When the frost fans (in the orchards) go on, we get really
nervous. We’re all related,” Kathy said.
In 1987, the Alleys bought the business and expanded it in 1992
by about one-third, to its present 10,000 square feet.
The store is now small by 2006 supermarket standards, and
despite some challenges over the past 10 years or so, the store
has fared well for the past two years.
“When we first bought the store, it was a real supermarket and
the primary grocery for a lot of people,” Kathy said. “We now
know we are a secondary store: people are used to the larger
selection of other stores.”
The Alleys have adjusted by changing their inventory. For
instance, “We no longer need to carry three full aisles of cake
mixes. There are other things we can expand upon, such as
produce and specialty items,” John said.
“We pride ourselves on being a supermarket. We’re not a Mom and
Pop operation, but we’re not ready for sushi, yet,” John said.
They added price scanners in 1990. They rely on computer
ordering and inventory, but still relish being on the floor
working directly with customers.
The Alleys also own the neighboring store, Clem’s, and own the
Cascade Market building in Cascade Locks, which they ran until
2000 and now lease.
They have two children: Katie Breshears of Hood River, who owns
Mission Construction with her husband, Bob, and Matt, a student
at Columbia Bible College in British Columbia.
Part of the pleasure of 25 years in business has been the
employees and their families. Manager Art Magaña was with the
store when the Alleys arrived, and Blake Magaña has been produce
manager for the past 14 years. Other key employees include
Sharon Mainwaring, J.B. Owre and Bill Dockham.
The Alleys play a grandparent role to many of their workers’
children. “We love the kids. Many nights we’ve had them over,”
Kathy said.
It is the growth of the Odell area and the arrival of many new
families that has represented the biggest change the Alleys have
seen since 1981. This is in large part to the increased number
of Hispanic families that stay in the county year-round.
The Alleys, who serve on the Industrial Lands Committee in the
Odell area, favor bringing in new business to the area. |
