10A • April 10, 2015 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com
Womack puts Copies & Fax on the market
Health issues
prompt owner’s
decision to sell
By Erick Bengel
Cannon Beach Gazette
Jeff Womack, who has
co-owned Copies & Fax lo-
cated at 171 Sunset Boule-
vard, with his wife Gladys
Womack for 19 years, has
put the business up for sale
and is looking to hand it off
WR ³WKH ¿UVW JX\ WKDW¶V JRW
money,” he said.
He has listed the busi-
ness — which mainly deals
in printing, shipping and
other business services —
with Jeff Etchison, a realtor
with Duane Johnson Real
Estate. Jeff Womack is aim-
ing to get $100,000, which
includes about $70,000 for
the equipment (printers,
copiers, computers, a paper
ERICK BENGEL PHOTO
cutter, etc.).
It would be nice, he said, Jeff Womack, owner of Copies & Fax, conducts a transaction with customer Kristi Mathena, of East Wenatchee, Wash. Womack and his wife, Gladys,
if the buyer is “somebody have owned the business for 19 years.
WKDW¶V UHDOO\ HVWDEOLVKHG LQ
³,¶P VWLOO UHFRYHULQJ merce, said he is always dis- Some days you miss it,” he
Though Jeff Womack Chamber of Commerce
town...”
from that,” he said, adding appointed when a business DGGHG³,W¶VNLQGRIDTXDQ- VDLG KH LVQ¶W VXUH ZKDW¶V board member.
‘Life’s too short’
that he still feels weak, “but is put up for sale because of dary, I guess, for me, but next for him, he said he and
“We wish Jeff well, and,
The decision came about ,¶PEDFNWRZRUN´
WKH RZQHUV¶ KHDOWK LVVXHV ,¶OO¿JXUHLWRXW,W¶OOEHQLFH his wife may travel togeth- \RXNQRZLW¶VDYHU\JRRG
because of a recent medical
That near-death expe- ³,¶P UHDOO\ VDG WR VHH WKDW not to work.”
er. Gladys Womack, who service for Cannon Beach,”
emergency.
rience, he said, “kind of happening,” he said.
is retired, is certainly on said Chris James, a law-
On Jan. 29, Jeff Wom- opened my eyes that maybe
board with his decision; she yer based in Portland who
$VNHG LI KH¶V ORRNLQJ ‘A necessary business’
Copies & Fax opened in is “already making a list of owns shares in the corpora-
ack almost died of a heart LW¶V WLPH IRU VRPHRQH HOVH forward to leaving the busi-
blockage, he said. He had to to have fun here,” and made ness, Jeff Womack replied, 1989, and, when he bought VWXII ,¶YH JRW WR GR DURXQG tion that owns the building
be revived 12 times through KLP UHDOL]H WKDW ³OLIH¶V WRR “Some days yes, some days the business, Jeff Womack the house.”
DQG SURSHUW\ ³:H¶YH EHHQ
12 rounds of CPR and spent short to work the rest of my no.”
became the fourth owner. He
In addition, Jeff Wom- happy to have Copies &
time at Providence Seaside life like this.”
³:KHQ \RX¶YH EHHQ GR- has people on call who occa- ack said he will remain Fax in the building.”
Hospital, and then at Prov-
³,W¶VDQHFHVVDU\EXVLQHVV
Courtland Carrier, exec- ing something this long, sionally help him out with the the board president of the
idence St. Vincent Medical utive director of the Cannon VRPH GD\V \RX¶UH WLUHG RI business “if he gets in a jam,” Tolovana Arts Colony. He I think, for our little town
Center in Portland.
Beach Chamber of Com- it and want no part of it. but he has no employees.
is still a Cannon Beach here,” Jeff Womack said.
Longtime Cannon Beach candy company offering ‘Schwiet’ franchises
PLQGHG <RX¶YH JRW WR ORYH
kids and family.”
Franchisees will spend
six to eight weeks training at
Cannon Beach before open-
ing their own stores.
By Mike Williams
EO Media Group
A longtime city sweet
spot took its business mod-
el nationwide in 2014 by
offering franchises.
6FKZLHWHUW¶V &RQHV
&DQG\ KDV ¿YH VROLG OHDGV
to open stores, owner Jeff
Schwietert said.
³,W¶V D ELJ ¿QDQFLDO
commitment,” he said. “It
takes people awhile to get
all that in order.”
Being the new franchise
kid on the block can be
tough, he said. There are so
many companies for pro-
spective owners to choose
from.
“Once we get a few
franchises off the ground
ZH¶OO EH UHDG\ WR UXQ´ KH
VDLG ³7KRVH ¿UVW IHZ ZLOO
be the hardest for us.”
,W¶V EDVLFDOO\ OLNH VWDUW-
ing a whole new business,
he said. It has to have its
own legal framework.
Schwietert chose to get
some help with taking the
business, known as The
Picnic Basket for 28 years,
beyond the Oregon coast.
He worked with Fran-
corp of Chicago to get
the franchising business
VWUXFWXUHG7KHUH¶VDORWWR
know.
6FKZLHWHUW¶V DELGHV E\
federal franchising guide-
lines. Some states, includ-
ing Washington, Oregon
and California, require
separate registration and
approval before franchises
Quality control
Once a franchise is up and
running, the company will
NHHS WUDFN RI WKH ÀHGJOLQJ
business.
“We live in a great age in a
ZD\´6FKZLHWHUWVDLG³:H¶OO
have cameras installed in the
stores that I can look at.”
Once a franchise is oper-
ational, the business will get
quarterly visit from a corpo-
MIKE WILLIAMS PHOTO rate representative, plus they
MIKE WILLIAMS PHOTO
Manager Ryan Eckstrom submit regular reports on
Jeff Schwietert hopes to transplant the cones and candy business model beyond the North dips a foam cake in milk machine maintenance and
chocolate.
Coast by selling franchises.
cleaning.
³:H¶OOKDYHDORWRIDELOL-
Re-imagining The
can be sold there. It takes a
tually, but the size is part the business to work, said ty to make sure standards are
maintained,” he said. “You
OLWWOHPRUH¿QHVVHWRJHWOH- Picnic Basket
of the attraction, Schwiet- Schwietert.
Schwietert brought in a ert said.
“You have to make sure want to make sure the cus-
gal in those states, Schwi-
designer to give the fran-
etert said.
7KLQN 0U 0DJRULXP¶V they have the money to do it,” tomer gets the same experi-
7KH\¶UH UHDG\ WR JR LQ chises a uniform, high-end Wonder Emporium except KHVDLG³,W¶VVXSHULPSRUWDQW HQFHZKHUHYHUWKH\JR:H¶UH
look. The interiors will with candy.
WRNQRZZKDW\RX¶UHJHWWLQJ not going into this half-heart-
all but 20 states.
into for both sides, especially edly.”
³(YHQWXDOO\ZH¶OOEHOH- have cotton candy clouds
and gumball pillars. There The right fit
For franchise information:
ZLWK FDQG\ <RX¶UH ORRNLQJ
gal in all states,” he said.
The company needs for people who are fun, fam- Call Trevor Weber, director of
The company is regis- will be icicles around the
the right franchisee for ily oriented but still business franchising, 503-436-1470.
tered in Northwest states ice cream cases.
“It will be very bright
and California.
“In franchising, you and exciting,” he said. “[It
want to focus on concentric will be] a place people will
circles of growth,” Schwi- want to return to. More
HWHUWVDLG³$OWKRXJKZH¶UH corporate than the current
getting lots of interest from store, but still our own.”
The Cannon Beach
California. We think it will
store will eventually get
do really well there.”
+H¶V H[FLWHG DERXW JR- the same makeover.
The stores will be
ing into more urban areas
that are less susceptible 3,000- to 5,000-square-
to the seasonal swings the feet. The company may
offer smaller stores even-
North Coast experiences.
D on’t m iss a n issue!
Accepting New Patients
James Rushing, MD is a board
certified pulmonologist. He brings
years of experience and a wealth
of expertise to the north Oregon
coast.
His patients say: “Dr. Rushing is
kind, patient and knowledgeable…
an extremely good listener…I trust
him completely with my health.”
Dr. Rushing is accepting new
pulmonology patients.
Medical Group
TillamookRegionalMC.org
Manzanita Primary, Specialty
& Urgent Care
10445 Neahkahnie Creek Road
Manzanita (503) 368-6244
Su bscribe to the
Toda y.
N o w G P S B T M P X B T o n l y
$1./ issue $/year
5 03 -3 25 -3 211
circu latio n @ can n o n b e ach g aze tte .co m