The shuttering of the Muller Quaker Dairy opened doors for Michael Welch.
The part-time pastor always wanted to own his own business, be his own boss, and with a three-month severance package and a program through the unemployment office aimed to help the unemployed start companies, Welch decided it was time to turn dream into reality.
"I’m a pastor and I believe in God and I just asked the Lord if this what we’re supposed to do, just let the doors all be open," Welch said. "And if it’s not, just stop, stop it. All of the doors have been open all along the way, not to say it hasn’t been hard work. It’s been extremely hard work, especially at the end here."
At first, his wife, Paula, was skeptical, even though she also enjoyed his hobby of garage sales, estate sales, and auctions. But as doors along the way kept staying open, she realized a retail store of their own might be exactly what God wanted them to do.
Tomorrow, they open Welch and Craine Trading Post, 60 Liberty St., Batavia (the main entrance is really on Liberty, behind the Pok-A-Dot).
The store features home furniture and decor, architectural salvage, handcrafted and repurposed furniture and household items.
Welch added "trading post" to the business name because he wanted people to know the store sold a variety of items.
"We’re not just going to have like 100 beds, or 100 dressers," Welch said "We’re going to have a whole different mix of things. Some of it is going to be old. Some of it is going to be new."
Michael and Paula long enjoyed going to garage sales together and then about six years ago, Michael discovered auctions. He enjoyed the hunt for antiques and the rush of bidding and winning on favorite pieces.
"At first, I was bringing pieces home and it fit perfectly, and then I was bringing more pieces home and then it didn’t fit too perfectly," Welch said. "Finally, Paula is like, ‘this stuff, you’ve got to do something with this. There is too much stuff.’ "
That's when he started to think his hobby could maybe someday become a business.
As he was going through the unemployment business program, he mentioned some of his ideas to Brian Kemp, co-owner of T-Shirts Etc., and Kemp loved his ideas.
"I'd like to do something like that," Welch said Kemp said.
As they talked, Kemp told Welch about the Batavia Development Corp. and how they have low-interest loans and grants to help small businesses get started in Batavia.
That started a whole other long process. He had to write a business plan and the BDC Board had him revise it a few times before his plan was approved and the project was approved for assistance.
Tomorrow, the grand opening is at 11 a.m. and then from 7 to 11 p.m., the Tommy Z Band, out of Buffalo, plays a free blues concert.
