PORT TOWNSEND — The Quimper Mercantile Co. has reached its first funding goal and has begun cleaning up the building that is destined to become a publicly owned general merchandise store in Port Townsend.
The company, known as QMC, reached the $425,000 goal Thursday.
That’s the amount it needed to open the store intended to replace Swain’s Outdoors, which closed in February 2011.
“This is a landmark. It’s an amazing thing,” said company CEO Peter Quinn.
“The response has been great.”.
“People get it and realize this is an important thing we are doing for the community.”
Ex-Swain’s Outdoors space
The new store will open in the old Swain’s Outdoors location at 1121 Water St. this summer.
The company finalized a lease of 15,700 square feet of the space in January.
On Thursday, Ian Keith, a QMC board member, was removing loose insulation in the ceiling at the site. Remodeling work is planned after city permits are acquired.
The plan is for the store to offer many of the goods not available from other stores in Port Townsend.
The company has been selling shares since January.
It set a May 1 deadline for the funding milestone, saying that if the money weren’t raised by then, it would either extend the deadline or return money to investors.
The goal was achieved early Thursday afternoon when Joanne Hafner bought two $100 shares, bringing the stock total to $400,000.
This triggered a $25,000 contribution from an investor who will remain anonymous until the shares are issued and the investor list becomes public.
The terms of the offering are that no single investor can kick in more than $50,000, so no one person or entity can hold a majority share.
More than 400 investors
Quinn said more than 400 people had invested in the venture, with the anonymous investor providing the largest amount.
The company’s long-term goal is to raise $950,000, and it will continue selling stock.
“Now that we have raised $425,000, it means that we can move toward opening the store and do things like purchase our inventory and hire a manager,” Quinn said.
“We have enough to sustain ourselves until the end of the year without having to take out any additional loans.
“The next $525,000 will go toward increasing the depth of the inventory and expanding what we can offer.”
The “cute little stock certificates that will look like what people used to get in the 1940s” are scheduled to be mailed to investors in the next four to six weeks, Quinn said.
Design plans
Quinn said the company plans to release the final design — which will show how the space will be used — in a few days.
After that, the company will file permit requests with the city of Port Townsend to make modifications.
Remodeling will include relocating the original doors into the building to create a recessed area and knocking out a portion of the back wall, Quinn said.
The disposition of a mural that is on an overhang has not been decided, Quinn said.
Quinn said he was “excited and gratified” to meet the original goal.
Uncommon offering
“These kinds of offerings aren’t common,” he said.
“I got a call from someone in New York asking about what the most important aspect was, and I told them it was to have an understanding of your community and that it needs to be willing to support the idea.
“In some cases, it can take five years to raise the same amount of money.
“We are lucky to be in a community where people understand the importance of doing things for themselves.”
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
