Thanks and regrets, but no variety store

To our friends in the Grand Coulee Dam area:

As many of you know, we have been trying since November to find a way to open a variety store in your area. During prior visits we’ve made to our daughter, Launi Ritter, we had seen a thriving variety store in Grand Coulee that served many of your needs and was a fun place to shop. When we heard that it was closing last fall, we knew it was a sad thing for many people, but it seemed there was nothing we could or should do about it at the time.

 Then last Thanksgiving our circumstances changed, and we began to eagerly explore what it might take to reopen a variety store. Things seemed to be falling into place. Launi took a lot of time from her coulee-area business, Heaven-Sent Computer Services, to help us in our search for a location to lease, while we worked on planning and financing. Many of you have offered great ideas and encouragement during this process, and we really appreciate your kind efforts, as well. We had most of our plans in place, and just needed a location to have products delivered and open up shop.

We are very sorry that we got your hopes — and ours — up, but because of circumstances beyond our control it doesn’t look like it will be possible for us to do. Thank you for your wonderful support, and we hope to meet many of you in the future.

Sincerely,

Doug and Mary Lou

Lockard