Retail Spotlight: KitchenArt, Big Ideas From the Store for Cooks
Before Larry Oates opened his KitchenArt store in West Lafayette, Ind., he made a list. The list was two-part, including both businesses that Oates — an attorney looking for a career change — would be interested in developing and businesses that he believed his Big Ten college town community needed. After careful consideration, “kitchenware store came to the top of the list,” recalls Oates, who opened KitchenArt: The Store for Cooks in February 1994.
Both Oates and his wife had attended Big Ten colleges, and when the pair was ready to start a family, they decided to leave the big city life of Chicago — where Oates was practicing law — and settle down in a Big Ten town. West Lafayette, home to Purdue University and about an hour’s drive from Indianapolis, offered everything the couple was looking for — including an opportunity for an independent housewares retailer in the making.
Oates taught himself the business, attending his first International Housewares Show in 1994, and opening the 2,500-square-foot KitchenArt store that same year. Two-and-a-half years ago, the savvy independent retailer expanded to become the 4,000-square-foot destination for cooks it is today.
Among the many benefits of life in a Big Ten town is a comparatively resilient economy and steady job base. “Our community has not been hit nearly as hard by the recession because of its background in academia,” notes Oates. “Schools are usually big employers and they don’t tend to have the layoffs that you see in other industries. Most businesses in West Lafayette are research and development focused, which still goes on in an economic downturn.”
And KitchenArt enjoys a rather enviable location in the thick of it all. Situated in a strip mall of other retail shops and restaurants, the store lies at the entrance to the 650-acre Purdue Research Park, which is home to more than 100 high-tech companies that employ some 2,500 people.
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