Whatcom store that had a bit of everything is having a going-out-of-business sale

A store known for having a little bit of everything packed into a small space in rural Whatcom County is beginning a closeout sale in December.

Everybody’s Store in Van Zandt is discounting groceries by 15 percent and gift items by 20 percent starting Dec. 1, Jeff Margolis said in an interview Thursday. He has owned the store with his wife, Amy, since 1970. The store is packed with holiday items now and the plan is to do what they can to empty the store throughout the month, possibly going into January. Margolis said they are open to the idea of leasing the store space.

While serving as a food market for the area, Everybody’s Store also has a wide range of gifts such as jewelry, toys, clothes, antiques, art and music. Visitors would also swing by for the store’s annual cheese festival, which took place this year the weekend before Thanksgiving. The store was also a pioneer in Whatcom County when it came to the natural and organic food movement, he said.

Margolis said there are several reasons they have decided to close, including their age. Also important to Margolis is the economics of trying to operate the store. He noted that it is expensive to get products into a rural area and that there is an expectation to compete with bigger urban stores. That business climate made it difficult to find a buyer for the business, he said.

The store, which is on Highway 9 north of Acme, was first established in 1903 at a time when country stores were more common in the area, Margolis said. When they purchased the store in 1970, they knew about those challenges but were focused on raising a family on a homestead in the country, Margolis said.

Owning the store is also very much a lifestyle for Jeff Margolis. He said he views himself as more of a philosopher than a businessman, so talking to customers and employees in a rural setting fit his frame of mind. It also allowed him to be active in Van Zandt, working on projects like founding the community center and being active politically.

“Business is not what motivated me,” Margolis said, adding that he valued the personal connections he made.