Smith Feed and Garden, 85 N. 200 West, has closed its doors for good. DeVan Pack, part owner of Smith Feed, called the situation a "sad one" and the decision to close after so many years "one of the most difficult we've ever had to make." According to Pack, the business has shown a steady decline in customers and revenue over the past seven years. Two years ago, management decided to increase prices across the board in an attempt to bring them in line with those of its competition. But the tactic didn't work.
"I don't know why," said Pack Tuesday. "We went over our financial situation and it appeared it would enable us to remain in business. But a year later we were right back where we started from. And we couldn't keep raising prices every year."
Smith Feed had made other moves to help adjust to a changing market. As agriculture became less and less important in South Davis, the business cut back on its stock of feed for cows, horses, pigs, chickens, etc., changing over to more dog, cat, bird, hamster and other pet foods.
"We're just not a farming area any more," Pack said of the move.
But, a recent announcement of a new tenant to the West Bountiful RDA area may have been the straw (no pun intended) that broke Smith Feed's back.
"We heard that a new Petco store would be coming into West Bountiful Commons," said Pack.
Then there were some less tangible items that may have contributed to the decline.
"The store just wasn't designed for modern retail," Pack said. "People just are not, for the most part, used to a business operating like we did."
Use of the site may go back as far as 1860 when Pack said he understood a Pony Express stop was located on the property. Another family turned the site into a flour mill.
"Bill Smith later bought it and changed it to a feed mill," said Pack. "In the 1940s, I think it was around '44, the boiler blew up and the original building burned to the ground. It was rebuilt and, in 1979, the Packs bought it from the Smiths."
Closing the store after such a long, storied history, was, obviously, a decision Pack didn't want to make.
"It's really sad," he said, shaking his head. "But it just was not financially feasible to keep it open."
bmickelson@davisclipper.com
Post a Comment
