For LeRoy Mattson his new business has somewhat of a resemblance to his old line of work in that it rests in the service industry.
But that’s where the similarities end for the new owner of Fairchild Mini Storage, located on Craig Road west of Fairchild Air Force Base.
Mattson’s former career has been in health care, specifically retirement homes. “I’m a licensed nursing home administrator,” Mattson said.
Having gone to school in Iowa for his degree work, Mattson worked there before returning home to Washington. While administering four nursing facilities in the state, he also operated an adult family home for eight years.
“I said this is craziness trying to do both so I ended up buying Willow Grove assisted living facility on the north side (in Spokane),” Mattson said.
After 14 years he said it was time to do something different and slow the pace of life down. “That’s why I ventured into this,” Mattson said, having sold the Willow Grove property.
For Mattson it’s a transition from humans needing the utmost in care to largely inanimate objects that do not need as much TLC. “It’s still the service industry, I’m still servicing people,” he added.
Now in the business of catering to people who lack room to store stuff means offering more than space behind locked gates and doors.
The facility offers storage units ranging from 5-feet x 10-feet to 10 x 40. “They’re big enough for most RVs,” Mattson said. Additionally there is outside and secured parking for RVs or vehicles.
He also owns a U-Haul dealership with all the amenities of trucks and trailers — as well as hitches — to make moving back and forth an easier chore than it otherwise might be. “We sell boxes and packing materials.”
Mattson said he purchased the business from a person he never met out of Seattle. “(It was) very absentee,” he said of the ownership.
He is taking time to do a number of improvements to the business including updating the gates. “There’s no security gates, there’s only certain hours they can come and go,” he said. He wants to add security cameras and better lighting.
“I’m trying to make it a distinct separation between the U-Haul and the mini-storage,” Mattson said. Plans also include expanding the office and updating an apartment that is onsite.
“I’m just trying to make some changes to provide a service to the community for a reasonable price,” he said.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Fairchild Mini Storage is located at 1529 S. Craig Road. Business hours are Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. To contact Fairchild Mini Storage call (509) 244-5477.
Paul Delaney can be reached at pdelaney@cheneyfreepress.com.
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