Business is always unique inside Sue's Shadow Box

Diversity of offerings keeps things steady in downtown shop

MOSES LAKE — Ask Sue Torrence why she's remained in Moses Lake since her arrival in 1960, and she'll ask you back:

"Why move anywhere else?"

Torrence's father was with the game department and she lived with her family at the fish hatchery when they arrived.

Torrence said she enjoys the four seasons and the location of the area.

"It was a great place to raise our kids," she said.

Torrence opened her business Sue's Shadow Box in May 1991 after going to market with a friend.

"There wasn't a lot of places in town here to shop," she recalled. "I guess I wanted a store that I could shop in, that wasn't too high end, but nicer than other stores. Just unique."

Torrence believes her business has something for everybody, and in their price range.

"We have quality items," she said. The store's merchandise includes many candles, collectibles, paper items and tart burners. "It's just where you can stop in. We'll help you find something. I just want everybody to feel comfortable. We have all different types of people that come in here."

Torrence said she started out small with the business next to husband Les' barber shop, but soon outgrew the location. Les, her husband of 32 years, helps out behind the scenes, Sue said.

As times change, color and decor changes. Torrence said her store has gone in different directions through the years.

"You just kind of find a new direction or something's popular at that time and you go with it," she said. Torrence points to the addition of tanning beds and women's apparel, a few years back, as examples of different directions the store has taken.

Because of the store's tendency to diversify, business has remained steady throughout the years.

For Torrence, coming to work means she gets to talk with all of her friends.

"We have a good time down here," she said. "And I've made a lot of friends and a lot of acquaintances. We work hard, but we have a lot of fun, too."

Several people work at Sue's Shadow Box, including Torrence's 10-year-old niece Emily Johnson. The young helper says she enjoys spending time with her aunt.

"We just have a lot of fun and get to talk and help people," Emily said, noting she would shop at the store even if she didn't come in to help out.

"It's a fun place to work," employee Kate Nordsten said. She came from the Tri-Cities area to Moses Lake almost two years ago and started at the Shadow Box several months later. "It was a great place, being new in town, to meet people. It's like everybody comes in, and you get to know about them and their families."

Torrence said the community response was good the moment her business opened almost 15 years ago.

"People were excited," she said. "(We have) unusual, fun things. It's like a hunt. Find something different that the other stores don't offer. You always have to try and be just a little different, a little unique. Have your own flair."