Local Longview
retailers adapt and thrive thanks to loyal customers BY CHRISTINA CAVAZOS ccavazos@news-journal.com
MICHAEL CAVAZOS
mcavazos@news-journal.com
and LES HASSELL
lhassell@news-journal.com
Randall Mick of Three Suns Unlimited.
Store manager Marie Vale of Hometown Hardware. ©2021, M. ROBERTS MEDIA
SECTION C | FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 2021 QUARTERLY | 2 OF 4
For local Longview retail shop owners, business is actually about their customers who are like family to many of them. It’s the customers who, through their loyalty, have helped many of them thrive for decades. It’s the customers who helped them survive an unprecedented year, and it’s the customers who are helping set them on a path for continued success in the community for years to come in the future. “We’ve been really fortunate to have customers who have made a point to support us, and it’s because of them that we’re even open right now, so we’re really appreciative,” Lacy Barron, store director of Barron’s, said earlier this year. In the past year, local retailers adapted to new practices, such as curbside pickup, delivery and growing their online presence, which many intend to carry well into 2021. Retailers such as The Brown Duck saw an uptick in 2020 in online orders from their web store and shipped items as far away as California, New York, Oregon and Maine. “The web store is really what we had to rely on because there were not as many people physically coming in, even after (pandemic) regulations began to ease up,” said Paula Walters, who co-owns the store. Wal-
ters has co-owned The Brown Duck with her husband, David, for 10 years. Their son, Cody Cox, serves as store manager. The store carries men’s, women’s and children’s clothing as well as shoes, bags and accessories. Brown’s Shoe Fit Co. began offering delivery services as it adapted to customer needs; meanwhile, Mundt Music hit the right note by growing its online presence and its repair service as well as continuing to offer new products from vendors and focusing on social media. Mundt Music Manager Mike Boring said as people spent more time at home, many began taking up hobbies. “I guess a lot of people were going stir crazy sitting at home and, I mean, because you couldn’t go out and see bands or anything like that, so they started investing in new instruments and learning at home,” Boring said. As people spent more time at home, they also reconnected with family favorite pastimes such as playing video and board games, working in the garden and making improvements to their abodes. At locally owned Games 2 Go, co-owners BJ Nix and Jonny Jobe saw an uptick in sales of video game systems and movies as people spent more time at home. The duo even transitioned their business to a new location in See LOCAL, Page 6C
Above, Manager Alec James at Hardin Ace Hardware. Right, Jan Elledge spends her afternoon shopping at Barron’s. Photos by Les Hassell and Michael Cavazos/News-Journal
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Downtown Longview
Retail growth continues
Retail growth isn’t slowing in downtown Longview and business owners say that’s a good thing. In 2020, downtown Longview experienced growth as about 10 new small businesses opened up. In 2021, that trend is continuing. FROM STAFF REPORTS
After longtime business, Heartisans Marketplace vacated a space on Methvin Street to move to Gilmer Road, several new shops have opened in the former location. PHINE Salon moved to the former Heartisans space earlier this year, and it has since expanded to open a home goods and apothecary store, Croft + Sage. The new store is owned by Chelsea Ferguson, Marietta Liebengood and Leslye Van Sickle, with Ferguson saying the store should be open in a couple of weeks. Products in the new store include small batch goods, skin care, kitchen items, men’s items, throw blankets, pillows, some furniture, gift soaps, pottery — most from Texas — and more. “I see so many people in the salon who
want to shop local,” and who are looking for hand-crafted items, Ferguson said. Longtime custom framing business Art World recently relocated to a portion of the Heartisans space. Art World has been owned by Emma Kay Staggs since 2009, but it’s been in business in Longview since 1984. Staggs’ son, Hank Staggs Deuson, is the store’s framer who will take over when Staggs retires, said office manager Susan Tanner. “He grew up in her first frame shop,” Tanner said. “He was about a week old when she started bringing him to her first frame shape in Marshall.” Tanner said the business was lured downtown by the establishment of the Arts!Longview Cultural District in downtown. “We kind of started looking and happened to find out Heartisans had moved to a new location and that building was becoming available,” Tanner said. At the
same time the Longview Museum of Fine Arts announced a move to the former Regions Bank building on Fredonia Street. “We do a lot with the museum. We were just thinking it would be great if we could be part of the arts district. We’re always trying to do stuff with the ArtWalk and the museum.” Additionally, Melissa Grooters relocated her portrait studio, Melissa Ann Photography next to Art World in the former Heartisans space. Longview Main Street Coordinator Melida Heien said earlier this year that the retail growth that has taken place and that continues to take place downtown has been “amazing.” “We have had so many new businesses open,” she said. “It has been exciting to see such a transformation take place downtown. We are on a really good path for our future.”
Spring is a special time each year. Animals emerge, warmer weather banishes the winter chill, and plants bloom into vibrant color. As I drive around Longview seeing our city come to life, I’m struck by how this yearly pattern takes on a special significance in 2021.
Letter from Mayor
Andy Mack In many ways, it seems like we have lived through a 15-month winter. We have hibernated in our homes, choosing to forego many of our favorite activities to keep ourselves, our families, and our community safe from the worst pandemic in a century. Then, our state literally hibernated under the worst winter snow storm in decades. But now, the snow has melted and the level of illness seems to be on the decline. Vaccinations are available for any who want them. The signs of life on display each Spring are joined by those of a community reawakening. On April 1, Arts!Longview hosted ArtWalk for the first time since 2019. The event drew thousands to downtown Longview and included more than 50 businesses and more than 100 artists. I was blown away by the community support for our Cultural District and the companies and individual artists who chose to be a part of the evening. Likewise, I know for many of us, in-person Easter services this year were treasured specifically because we were unable to gather together last Easter. On April 8, the Longview City Council met together in person after about a year of virtual teleconference meetings. It’s vital to be able to meet together and hear from our residents in person, and we are grateful our meetings can now proceed safely face to face with social distancing and mask wearing.
On May 6, the Longview Arboretum and Nature Center’s Spring Concert Series returns as the beautiful garden in bloom. And on May 7, Downtown Live - the free concert series held at Heritage Plaza - will resume for weekly shows through June 11. This event is a community favorite, and its return has been long awaited. This community reawakening should create a profound sense of gratitude. As life resumes in earnest, with galas at the Maude Cobb Convention Center and birthday parties at park pavilions, with movies, ball games, friend trips and family gatherings, it is my hope that we do not lose our appreciation for all the lessons we have learned. The past year has taught us what truly matters. It reminded us to always let those we care about know. It showed us the value of a group of friends sitting, talking, and sharing life together. It forced us to slow down and pause the extras that overwhelm daily life. It revealed how often we take the many blessings in our lives for granted. And it proved that together we can overcome any challenge thrown at us. I am grateful to CHRISTUS Good Shepherd, Gregg County, and the State of Texas for their partnership with the City of Longview in providing our MEGA Vaccination Hub Clinic, which has helped so many receive protection and peace of mind.
I am also encouraged by an improving local economy and the news of businesses opening and expanding in Longview. Much like a gardener must prepare his garden before planting seeds, we must cultivate an economic field ripe for success. The Longview Economic Development Corporation (LEDCO) has done the hard work of preparing cutting edge business parks that are “shovel ready” for new projects, and the effort is paying off. Earlier this year, Gap Inc. announced plans to build a new state-of-the-art Customer Experience Center in the Longview North Business Park. The $140 million investment will create more than 1,000 full-time jobs in Longview over the next five years along with another 1,000 parttime and seasonal jobs. The facility is the second major distribution center during my time as mayor. We’ve also seen existing businesses re-invest and expand their operations like Komatsu, AAON, NUCOR, and many more. I am confident we will continue to see more organizations excited to call Longview home. Even in the darkest and most difficult times of the past year, I never lost faith in the strength of the people of this community to persevere. I am thankful to every resident who did their part to help our community reach the point where we can re-open safely. I encourage everyone to continue to follow best practices to ensure continued community health. Let us remember our lessons from this extended Winter. Let’s continue to support one another. And let’s be grateful for spring.
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Texas
thrive in the face of adversity
Bank & Trust perseveres, remains at forefront of economic recovery and digital offerings
BY CHRISTINA CAVAZOS ccavazos@news-journal.com
As technology will remain a mainstay for banking customers . . . community banks must prioritize their needs and upgrade digital offerings in a variety of ways.
KEVIN HOOD President/Chief Operating Officer Texas Bank and Trust
Community banking persevered in the past year as individuals and businesses turned to their trusted institutions for advice and aid during unprecedented times. Going forward, local banks intend to use what they learned to be at the forefront of economic recovery and digital offerings. “Community banks thrived in the face of adversity on 2020, and the Paycheck Protection Program illustrated the important role that community banks play in our economy,” Texas Bank and Trust President and CEO Kevin Hood said. “Texas Bank and Trust was among those independent financial institutions that successfully provided millions of dollars in needed relief funding to small businesses across the region.” Nevertheless, he added, diversified revenue streams are becoming increasingly important to the sustainability of community banks. “This is especially so given the low interest rate environment, which is expected to persist for some time, and the increasing technology and regulatory compliance costs facing banks of all sizes,” Hood said. The events of 2020 accelerated digital offerings in banking and pushed many community banks to rapidly enhance their digital infrastructure. Hood said the buzz-phrase “operational resilience” is popular right now as both the pandemic and February’s winter storm illustrated the importance of having systems in place to withstand service disruptions. “We believe Texas Bank and Trust’s resilience to such, both in the past and now looking towards the future, lies in our planning,” Hood said. For the past decade, Texas Bank and Trust has made “considerable, yet focused” investments in the development of a digital banking infrastructure – via
online, mobile and an expanded ATM network – that would allow customers to complete all of their banking business in a virtual environment if they so choose, Hood said. “Along the way, we integrated additional e-services, such as online account opening, mobile check deposit and payments, both for bills and person to person, to establish one of the most comprehensive bank on demand service lines,” he said. “The pandemic helped us to merely identify areas for fine-tuning of that infrastructure, such as for speed and system accessibility with periods of high customer usage. We did not have to build such a framework from the ground up, when the moment demanded.” As technology will remain a mainstay for banking customers, Hood said community banks must prioritize their needs and upgrade digital offerings in a variety of ways. “That has been most evident with our recent and most significant launch already for 2021 of TBT’s new robust digital banking platform for business customers, also known as treasury management,” Hood explained. “What we are seeing is customers’ want for better online and mobile experiences (similar to their in-branch experience), regardless if they are an individual, a family or a business.” Despite the increase in digital services, customer engagement via traditional and digital methods remains “paramount” to the bank’s success, he said. “Meeting customer demand going forward will require not only speed and transparency, but also hyper-personalization and attention to individual needs,” Hood said. “For TBT, developing mutually beneficial relationships by being proactive to those customer needs, rather than being reactive to requests, will be the key.”
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2 “We’ve been really fortunate to have customers who have made a point to support us, and it’s because of them that we’re even open right now, so we’re really appreciative.”
LOCAL
LACY BARRON Store Director, Barron’s
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2020 with great success, which they attribute to their customers. “That’s why we love our community here in Longview and greater East Texas that shops with us,” Nix said. “Our customers are phenomenal.” Families also reconnected over the table with board games as Randall and Christine Mick, owners of Three Suns Unlimited, experienced an uptick in sales. “People get tired of video games and want to go back to playing board games with their families,” Randall Mick said. “They are more family-oriented. You can get the whole family together and play a board game when oftentimes only one or two people will be interested in any given video game, which is often single player.” Families also connected in the garden as locally owned Horaney’s saw an uptick in people shopping for garden seed and yard supplies as it celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2020. A Longview mainstay, owner Betty Horaney said the store has been blessed by its loyal customer base. Meanwhile, home stores such as Hardin Ace Hardware and Hometown Hardware remained busy as people worked on home improvement projects. “We’re blessed to be in this business so, yeah, we’ve been busy — busier than normal,” Hardin Ace Hardware Manager Alec James said. While the past year pushed many people indoors, it also pushed them outside. A reconnection with the great outdoors benefited Longview’s Woolley G’s Bike & Fitness, where business boomed. Woolley G’s sells bikes, accessories, nutrition products and apparel and offers maintenance and repair services. The store also hosts group bike rides for the community. “We have seen a lot of sales and service work, just people coming in to facilitate their outdoor adventures a little bit more now than ever before,” co-owner and operator David Hernandez said. “So, we have been really happy … from a business perspective.” Meanwhile, Jason Withrow, owner of Global Graphics, went on a mission to help as many fellow small businesses as he could. Withrow and his staff came up with the “Strongview” campaign that served as a mantra for Longview during the past year. With the Strongview campaign, Global Graphics made T-shirts for fellow local business owners that featured “Strongview” on the front and the business logo on the back. The shirts served as a morale booster for the businesses but also for the city. “It’s a morale booster, and it lets them get their business name out there,” Withrow said. “And, it’s something the whole city can get behind and join in with us to say, ‘Let’s come together — this is how we’re going to make it out of here.’ ” Not only was it how the city was going to make it out, coming together also is how Longview is going to move forward. As local retailers continue to see an uptick in sales, many see a bright future ahead thanks to community support. “I think people are realizing the effect that local businesses have on our local economy,” Barron said. “During the pandemic, everyone seemed to start actively pursuing local businesses, especially online. ... Everyone has been much more aware of shopping local, and that has been awesome.”
1. Betty Horaney of Horaney’s Inc. 2. Manager Mike Boring at Mundt Music. 3. David Hernandez co-owner of Woolley G’s Bike & Fitness. 4. Jason Withrow, owner of Global Graphics. 5. Manager Cody Cox and his parents and coowners Paula and David Walters of The Brown Duck. Photos by Michael Cavazos and Les Hassell/News-Journal
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Longview automotive
dealers look toward new models, increased sales in ‘21 1
BY CHRISTINA CAVAZOS ccavazos@news-journal.com
If there’s one word Longview automotive dealers use to describe the past year and the upcoming year, it’s simply “blessed.” Automotive dealership managers said they have been “blessed beyond belief” by their customers, who helped them not only survive but thrive during a pandemic year and whose support already is setting them on a path to be poised for continued success this year. “2020 was the most unbelievable year of my 47-year career here, and in 2021, every indication I have is that it’s going to be more of the same,” said John Ray, new-car sales manager at Orr Cadillac GMC in Longview. Orr Cadillac GMC experienced double-digit increases in 2020 in every area of the business, including sales, Ray said. He attributes the success to several factors, including having a strong mar-
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“2020 was the most unbelievable year of my 47-year career here, and in 2021, every indication I have is that it’s going to be more of the same.” JOHN RAY new-car sales manager Orr Cadillac GMC Longview
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1. Salesman Ryan Blalock shows off a vehicle for sale at Orr Cadillac GMC of Longview. 2. Salesman Michael Ventimiglia takes notes on a vehicle for sale at Orr Cadillac GMC. 3. Sales Manager John Ray of Orr Cadillac GMC Longview. 4, 5 & 6. Toyota of Longview. Photos by Michael Cavazos/News-Journal
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ket that saw historically low interest rates for car loans. Additionally, Cadillac released a new Escalade and GMC released a new Yukon, which had loyal customers seeking to upgrade their previous models. “It was a combination of those new models being introduced and we were able to hire the very best staff we’ve ever had,” Ray said. “We made a concerted effort to improve our personnel and the economy stayed fairly strong.” At Toyota of Longview, President Greg Michelsen said sales remained strong and that it’s a function of the Toyota brand. “We have a strong, loyal customer following,” Michelsen said. “Toyota people – both the sellers and the buyers – are really like one big family.” In 2020, Toyota of Longview experienced a more limited selection because of supply chain interruptions at manufacturing plants. However, Michelsen said the dealership’s customers remained patient and understanding.
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Longview News-Journal, Friday, April 16, 2021
“Throughout the year, one of our biggest priorities was not even sales. Our biggest priority was keeping our customers and our associates healthy,” he said. That meant employees worked half of a normal work week, typically working three days then taking three days off. That helped reduce their exposure and served the dealership well in terms of both service and sales, Michelsen said. With five new Toyota models, including the Tundra, Tacoma and 4Runner, slated to be released in the next 18 months, Michelsen is excited to see what the future holds. However, he anticipates there may be more supply chain interruptions for the brand which is known for its reliability. At Orr Cadillac GMC, Ray said he anticipates another strong year as customers seek the latest technology, which is trending toward more electric vehicles. “We have not slowed down one bit,” Ray said.
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