3c hapter - Index of

Community Capital 115
triples every summer, is the unlikely center for a radical experiment
in community self- suffi ciency.
It all started when the local Ames department store went bust.
Its closing had little to do with the location. The Saranac Lake
store was profi table, but the parent organization, saddled with
debt after an extended acquisition spree, was unable to survive
an economic downturn and went bankrupt in 2002. Area residents
were left with no option but to drive an hour to buy basics
like underwear. That prompted some community members to
form a group to examine retail alternatives. At fi rst they courted
big retailers, but few were interested. That is, except Walmart,
which had been trying to open a superstore in the tri- lake region
for years. Local activists, fearing that a giant supercenter would
destroy their community, had thwarted it so far. But without other
retail options, it wasn’t clear how long they could hold out.
That’s when the group learned of the Powell Mercantile,
a community- owned store in Powell, Wyoming, a rural town about
the same size as Saranac Lake. The Merc, as it is known, was established
in 2002 by a group of citizen- investors after the town’s only
department store, a chain called Stage, shut down, forcing shoppers
to make a 50-mile round- trip drive to the nearest big- box
store, in Cody. Powell offi cials feared that that would set in motion
a downward spiral, hurting the remaining merchants as locals did
more and more shopping outside the town. A group of residents
and town offi cials raised money in $500 shares from residents and
opened their own store in the 7,000- square- foot space formerly
occupied by Stage. It may not be fancy, but it carries a wide selection
of items, from shoes to luggage, often at a lower price than
at the mall. Fashion brands like Tommy Hilfi ger share space with
rancher- appropriate Wranglers.
The Merc has been hugely successful, turning a profi t every
year except 2009, thanks to a recessionary dip. Since its sixth
year in operation, it has paid healthy annual dividends of around
15 percent to its owners. It has also expanded into an adjacent
building, doubling its size. Rather than the downward spiral that
town offi cials once feared, Powell’s Main Street is now thriving.
“It makes a town feel good about themselves. People can say, ‘I’m