Gretchen’s
A model for a transforming
downtown Mount Vernon
by Jacob Block

Anyone who has had the pleasure of shopping Mount Vernon’s growing downtown business district will know Gretchens.
After eight years specializing in upscale kitchen products and cooking classes, Gretchens has become a destination store in downtown Mount Vernon, and a glowing example of how small business can still thrive amid malls and big-box stores.
Gretchen Pickett has owned and operated the store since 1997, but she has called Mount Vernon home since 1976, when she and her husband rented a building downtown and opened Cascade Sports. That was her first business venture, and she said she had no experience or any idea if it would work. In fact, when they opened, another ski shop in town was just getting ready to close its doors.
“We were just sort of looking for a place to settle down, and we liked the low-key atmosphere in Mount Vernon,” she said. “We were 25 and opening a ski store just sounded like a good idea.”
At that time, she said, downtown Mount Vernon was in a slump and Skagit County was one of the slowest growing counties in the state. Despite these seeming obstacles, by 1982 they had bought their own building on First Street, and Cascade Sports did well until she sold it in 1989. In the meantime, they had also begun amassing Athlete’s Foot franchises, eventually owning nine, stretching up and down the I-5 corridor from Bellingham to Bend, Oregon.
Now, increasing growth, coupled with community efforts such as a recent “Buy Local” campaign have helped to revitalize the downtown shopping area, and Gretchens with it.
“When we first moved in, downtown was very depressed because of two small malls that moved in on College Way,” Pickett said. “It’s on an upswing now because of population increase in the area, and there are also some really good anchor stores downtown like the Food Co-op.”
The business climate was still a little unwelcoming, she said, when the new owners of Cascade Sports moved out in 1997, and she was having trouble finding a tenant for the building. That’s when she came up with the idea of opening her own business.
“The Cooking Channel was getting popular, and I realized there wasn’t a single kitchen store north of Seattle,” she said. “It just kind of took off.”
Although she stocks all manner of kitchen items, Pickett says the main draw to Grethens is its wide variety of obscure gadgets and gizmos. A particularly big seller is the Seemster, which she describes as “a real simple, old-school mandolin.” She prides herself on making sure she has everything her customers could possibly be looking for.
“People say, ‘If you can’t find it at Gretchens, it doesn’t exist,’” she said. “When somebody comes in here and we don’t have what they are looking for, it really affects me personally.”
In the rare event that this happens, however, Pickett said she makes sure to find it and stock it as quickly as possible, either through catalogs or at trade shows.
And it’s not just Gretchens’ customers that she tries to keep happy – her employees love the store too. Pickett said she has virtually no employee turnover. Manager Jama Hiltz has been with Gretchens since the beginning, and said she loves her job.
“Gretchen opened the store in June of 1997, and I started in July,” Hiltz said.
Hiltz had already been working in downtown Mount Vernon since the late 1980s, but had taken a few years off to raise her child. Gretchen was an old acquaintance and a customer of her previous employer, and she said she knew it would be a great place to work.
“I was interested in cooking and I knew Gretchen, so when it was time to go back to work, I just knew I wanted to work there,” she said.
Eight years later, she said she feels the same.
“It’s a great working environment,” she said. “Gretchen has a way of bringing people together. It’s an exciting business and we have a lot of fun.”
According to Hiltz, it’s just this atmosphere that draws people in.
“It’s a warm, inviting store,” she said. “It’s almost like a family atmosphere when you walk in. It’s somewhere people want to go because they know they will always find something new – it’s the whole package.”
Though her retail sales remain strong, Pickett said a huge amount of her business also comes from her cooking classes.
“It’s a very important part of the store,” she said. “Local chefs come together to teach the classes three times a week. It’s as much entertaining as it is educational. It’s really just a nice night out for people.”
A bi-annual sale also remains a major draw to Gretchens, in part, Pickett says, because it doesn’t feel like shopping. In fact, the most recent sale saw a 35 percent sales increase over last year.
“You get a great sense of community,” she said. “Everybody knows each other – it almost feels like a party.”
Once Pickett’s customers have found the perfect mixing bowl, silverware set or high-tech kitchen gadget, many make one last stop next door at Embellish, a jewelry and gift shop run by her daughter Meagan since 2002.
Pickett said her daughter is doing very well, and it’s nice to have the stores connected, both physically and also in terms of customer base and cross-selling. Hiltz agrees.
“Embellish is a really nice addition to have right next door,” she said. “We work well together – it’s a perfect fit.”
Gretchens has become a truly defining part of the atmosphere in downtown Mount Vernon. So whether you are looking to stock up on unique kitchen supplies, or just want to learn how to cook, you are sure to find what you’re looking for at Gretchens.

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