Cedarville's Cedar Pantry Is Named Business of the Year
By Amy Polk

Accepting the Business of the Year Award Wednesday, October 3, are (from left) Cedar Pantry Manager Mike Schaeffer and owners Tony, Ethel, and Steve Autore.

With its bright, familiar sign and rustic cedar siding, the Cedar Pantry has been a landmark in the Cedarville community for almost 40 years.

The store's yellow sign, which at night glows like a beacon, features a picture of a cornucopia to advertise the food and supplies to be found inside. The sign became a piece of local nostalgia that the Autore family kept when they became the new owners of the business started by Jim Young in the 1970s. The wood siding and fuel are other features the Autore family kept, while changing and updating the store's product line to keep up with changing consumers.

The store's attention to consumers is among the reasons Cedar Pantry was named the 2007 Business of the Year. Les Cheneaux Chamber of Commerce President Tom Haske complimented the store's cleanliness and attractiveness as he presented the award Wednesday, October 3, to owners Tony, Ethel, and Steve Autore, and manager Mike Schaeffer. He also complimented the variety of products offered by the convenience store, especially its recent additions of the "Beer Cave" and a line of live bait.

"It's a place that you can find almost anything to buy, from food, beverages, and even a last-minute birthday gift," Mr. Haske said.

A few of the other reasons the business was nominated include the "stable, year-around employment it provides for many people in the community," Mr. Haske said, and the friendliness and helpfulness of staff. He said they often give directions to hunting and fishing spots, and even advise customers where to find something Cedar Pantry doesn't offer.

It is rare that one cannot find something at Cedar Pantry, however, as the owners and manager have worked hard to define "convenience store" at the business. The Autores started running Cedar Pantry about 17 years ago. As convenience stores have evolved to become anchor businesses in some communities, so has Cedar Pantry. The store expanded its coffee area to include baked goods and other popular snacks and beverages, including soft serve ice cream. Fried lunch foods, hot dogs, and a new "grab-and-go" menu have all been introduced over the last six years, and the public has liked the changes, said Mr. Schaeffer.

Sporting goods, fishing bait, and the Beer Cave added in the past three years have been among its best received features. The Beer Cave allows customers to get their own cases and 12-packs from a walk-in cooler, freeing up staff and space for more products.

"We have a more time now for customer service," said Mr. Schaeffer. "We literally used to have to schedule someone to work in the cooler eight hours a day."

That person previously working in the cooler can now spend more time in the store and on the third cash register, another change that has made it easier for people to get in and out of the store, Mr. Schaeffer said. Customers seeking hunting and fishing licenses find it especially convenient. The open hours from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. are set to correspond with when most people are heading to work and coming home, Mr. Schaeffer said.

Cedar Pantry has been a good business, said Tony Autore, and local support has been crucial to its success.

"We try to have things in there that people want, and we try to do anything we can to help the community," Mr. Autore added.

The store has used its high profile location to help community organizations promote their events and fundraisers. On any given weekend, customers might find Michigan Snowmobile Association members selling raffle tickets or Girl Scouts selling cookies. The store has sponsored raffle ticket sales, makes room for event flyers and schedules on counters, and staff hang flyers for charitable benefit dinners around the store. A board for posting local events, garage sales, and other announcements has been a store feature for at least a decade. The store always donates prizes for events like Snowsfest, Independence Day games, and school fundraisers.

To keep up with the changing times, Mr. Schaeffer said, Cedar Pantry has added trendier items like micro-brew beers and an expanded wine selection. The live bait and fishing gear selection has expanded in recent years to keep pace with improved fishing in the Les Cheneaux Islands. Cedar Pantry carried bait and gear when they first took over the business, Mr. Autore said, but stopped they carrying it so as not to compete with other local businesses carrying bait. Most of those businesses have closed, he said, so the store brought the items back and is slowly expanding offerings.

Mr. Schaeffer said customers like the fact they can come in at 6 a.m. for coffee and leave with a container of bait for early morning fishing. Ice fishing equipment and bait sales, in fact, helped sustain the business through last winter, when snowmobile-related sales were down. Warm weather and little snow caused a short snowmobiling season last winter, which impacted many local businesses that depend on snowmobile traffic to sustain business through the winter.

When tourism is down, stores like Cedar Pantry have come to rely on local residents, which is why the business started hosting Customer Appreciation Days in the spring and fall.

"We appreciate all the customers who have supported us over the years and made us Business of the Year," Mr. Schaeffer said.