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Competition ousts 20-year Christmas tree tradition in North Deering
Nov 17, 2009 8:10 am
PORTLAND — For the last 20 years, the Storey family has sold Christmas trees at Lib's Dairy Treats near the Northgate Shopping Center in North Deering.
But the neighborhood tradition started in the mid-1980s by the late Lloyd Storey, a well-known Westbrook firefighter and businessman, ends this year, a victim of rising costs and cold, hard business decisions.
Elliot Storey, Lloyd's son, said sales of more than 2,000 trees and wreaths a year at the triangle between Auburn Street and Washington Avenue doubled any other location the family operated, and carried the business through tough times.
"It erases all of the bad things that happen in the summer and puts us in the black," the 25-year-old said. "That became our premier location."
Storey credited the success not only to the highly visible location, but to a loyal customer base from Portland, Falmouth, Cumberland and Westbrook that was cultivated by his father, who died two years ago.
"He knew people," Storey said. "He knew who he would have to be gruff with and who he had to dazzle. Families would come for this great experience of picking up a tree and get great customer service."
Storey said he had assurances from the property owner following his father's death that the long-standing arrangement would continue. But rent was recently increased from $2,000 to $8,000, making it difficult to turn a profit. Storey decided to pay the increased rent, but could not meet additional terms of the lease.
Beyond the rent increase, Storey believes he lost the location for personal reasons. But property owner Brenda Pawloski said that was not necessarily the case.
Pawloski said her family used to sell Christmas trees at that location, but started renting it to the Storeys when her family began concentrating on wreaths and decorating the interiors of commercial buildings. Now that their commercial decorating business is no longer in operation, Pawloski said she wanted to revive her family's tradition.
"It's going to be me and my family (selling trees) on our property," she said. "We used to sell (trees) there quite some time ago and we decided this year we could take it up again."
Pawloski said she and her son, Matthew, who works during the summer at the ice cream store, will likely begin selling trees on Nov. 27, the day after Thanksgiving.
Starting that same day, Storey said his loyal customers will still be able to buy Christmas trees, which are shipped in from northern Maine, at several other locations, including the Storey Garden Center on Route 302 in Westbrook. Other locations include sites near the Howard Johnson's on Riverside Street in Portland, the Jetport Plaza in South Portland and at Maine Oxy in Auburn.
Randy Billings can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 100 or rbillings@theforecaster.net
BlueBlaze says:
annemarie13 says:
Elliot,
You will do great in your other locations! You are a fine young businessman and your father would be very proud of your accomplishments.
GoSeadogs says:
Really? Can this article get any more one sided? The fact that the writer, Randy Billings, is buddies with Elliot Storey is pretty telling in and of itself. Then again, good, honest journalism seems to be dead. Part of being a good journalist is getting both sides and telling the facts, which certainly wasn't done here.
Brenda Pawloski is one of the nicest, big-hearted people you could ever meet. She is not a cruel, mean-spirited corporate robot. To spin this article the way it has been is disrespectful to Mrs. Pawloski and the business she and her family have worked so hard to keep going. There is ABSOLUTELY another side to this story and I want to hear it. Where is it, Mr. Billings? Was it too difficult to get both sides? Or did you not want to disappoint Storey? If Mrs. Pawloski needed to make a difficult business decision it's guaranteed there was a damn good reason. Did Storey tell you everything? Perhaps Mrs. Pawloski wanted to keep private business dealings precisely that. Private. Apparently Storey feels the need to broadcast his self induced problems to everyone who'll listen. Is that some warped attempt to draw in more business?
And using his dead step-father as a way to get pity business? C'mon. Grow up and try real methods of drawing business rather than having your friend write a scandalous and, quite frankly, pathetic article about how poor Elliot has been wrong by the big, bad Lib's Dairy Treats.
And for the record, turning a profit is ALL you do when selling trees. It's one of the most lucrative businesses out there. And if $6000 dollars is what breaks your bank as a businessman, you're not a good businessman. Being a hard-working, honest individual is what keeps people coming back to you. Not spewing lies and libel in a sad effort to get what you want. Lib's has been run by honest, hardworking people for over 40 years. Maybe Storey should be getting pointers on how to run a business from Mrs. Pawloski, rather than burning bridges out of a childish temper tantrum. You get what you give. It's true in life, business, and journalism. Too bad it's been egregiously overlooked in this article. Maybe Us Weekly or the Inquirer is more Mr. Billings speed. At least you don't need facts or truth to write for those rags. This article was truly in bad taste. If Storey's business is failing, it's quite apparent that it's because of his character, not the actions of others.
Wow . . . GoSeadogs . . . I can only take an educated guess as to who you are and how you are related to the "facts". Fact #1, how dare you accuse Elliot of "using his dead step-father as a way to get pity business"! Not only is this untrue it is extremely offensive to Lloyd's memory and Lloyd's family. Fact #2, are you sure that Mrs. Pawloski didn't assure Elliot that their business arrangement wouldn't change after Lloyd's passing . . . you'd better check with her on this. If she is in fact one of the "nicest, big hearted people you could ever meet" then she will be truthful regarding her statements of assurance to Elliot. I doubt that the true facts will ever come out of this . . . friendships and loyalties played a big part in this and I am positive you know what I am talking about. I have no doubt that Elliot Storey will be just as successful as his Dad Lloyd . . . there is a lot to be said for honesty and integrity and Elliot has both of these qualities.