Rooted in community

EPHRATA — Steve and Heather Brown bought the Ephrata Grocery Outlet location in late 2022, and now, just over a year later, they appear to be happy with the decision to buy in a smaller community.

“We didn’t want any of the larger stores, even though we knew it’d be a struggle (to operate in a small town),” Heather said. “Lower volume, obviously, but still, it gives us that ability to just be able to give back to the community.” 

Steve said the pair are both from small towns in Northern California. He’s from Willows while Heather grew up a short distance away in Elk Creek. While she’d been in retail for more than 20 years — seven of those with Grocery Outlet — he was a bit more difficult to convince. He grew up farming, then worked on farm equipment and machinery and even served as a wildland firefighter. Heather had tried to get him to switch fields to retail for years, in part out of a concern for his safety, but it took a final fire that left a difficult impression for him to change over. 

“Heather tried to get me into the grocery business for years,” he said. “I just couldn’t get it in my mind to do it.”

That last fire changed his mind though, and he made the switch. While the culture of the store is different from being out on a fire line, he said he enjoys meeting the customers and working with the staff. The team jokes with one another and works together.

Both Heather and Steve have a section of the store they manage and work on directly, Heather said. That allows them to interact with customers and staff and leads to the rewarding parts of the day. Establishing relationships with staff and shoppers is what both said is a key to enjoying the job of owning a grocery store. They often get to know customers on a first-name basis. 

“And so, when they come in, to us they’re not a customer. We’re just serving our friends and our neighbors,” Heather said. 

Between them, Heather and Steve have seven children; three are hers and four his. Now that those children are adults, being involved in the community helps the Browns feel connected. They’ve participated in Sage ‘N Sun, a wine walk, and the Ephrata Chamber of Commerce’s Halloween event this past fall, among other community activities. It makes Ephrata feel like home, they said. 

“We’ve both been involved in our towns, whether it’s football, parades, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, wrestling, football, baseball or basketball,” Steve said.

Keeping active is as much for them as the community, but they’re glad to be able to do those things to help others and take care of their new hometown.

Running the business has its challenges, they said, but also has rewards. There was some turnover at the store shortly after they bought it. Since then though, they’ve developed a team they enjoy working with and people are staying for the long haul. Steve said he occasionally has to tell people the store isn’t hiring because staff are staying and that means there aren’t openings. 

The biggest challenge is getting people to remember they’re available. The other two grocery stores in Ephrata can tend to get the bulk of the business, but the Browns think that’s likely mostly habit. They don’t mind those stores getting business, but they recommend folks stop in and give them a try. They feel the prices are competitive and people can not only save money, they can still give business to the other stores. They just want a chance to get to know those who haven’t given them a try.

“We tell people to shop us first,” Heather said. “We don’t have to be the only place you shop, but shop us first because you never know what you’re going to find and our inventory rotates constantly,” Heather said. 

R. Hans Miller may be reached at editor@columbiabasinherald.com. 

Grocery Outlet — Ephrata
1460 Basin St. SW
Ephrata, WA 98823
Daily 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
509-398-8962
ephrata@groceryoutlet.com

    Steve and Heather Brown, left, bought the Ephrata Grocery Outlet location in late 2022 from Laulea and Holden Gorbea, right. Heather and Steve said they enjoy the community-focused culture of Grocery Outlet and have enjoyed moving to Ephrata.
  

    Heather Brown, left, and Steve Brown, right, have seven children in their blended family who are all grown up. Being part of the community in Ephrata allows them to connect with people of all ages and they’ve enjoyed events such as giving candy out at the Ephrata Chamber of Commerce’s Halloween event this past fall.