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Bait, beer and buddies: Rustic Lake Roesiger Store for sale

Published 1:30 am Friday, July 27, 2018

By Julie Muhlstein

As his daughter, Rachel Hickson, waits on a customer, owner Keith Hickson strokes the face of an elk head that graces the wall above ice cream freezers in his Lake Roesiger Store. Nearby are the trophies of a fox, a huge fish, a linx, a deer, an antelope and more. (Dan Bates / The Herald)
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As his daughter, Rachel Hickson, waits on a customer, owner Keith Hickson strokes the face of an elk head that graces the wall above ice cream freezers in his Lake Roesiger Store. Nearby are the trophies of a fox, a huge fish, a linx, a deer, an antelope and more. (Dan Bates / The Herald)

As his daughter, Rachel Hickson, waits on a customer, owner Keith Hickson strokes the face of an elk head that graces the wall above ice cream freezers in his Lake Roesiger Store. Nearby are the trophies of a fox, a huge fish, a linx, a deer, an antelope and more. (Dan Bates / The Herald)
As his daughter, Rachel Hickson, waits on a customer, owner Keith Hickson strokes the face of an elk head that graces the wall above ice cream freezers in his Lake Roesiger Store. Nearby are the trophies of a fox, a huge fish, a linx, a deer, an antelope and more. (Dan Bates / The Herald)
The Lake Roesiger Store, a rustic spot and community hub since 1939, is for sale. Owner Keith Hickson, who lives on the lake, has been running the store for about seven years. (Dan Bates / The Herald)
Owner Kevin Hickson says one of the things he has enjoyed most about running the Lake Roesiger Store has been the kids. Here, he visits with Sawyer Hoenshell, 4, who puts aside an apple and devours a hot chocolate with whipped cream and sprinkles. (Dan Bates / The Herald)
As is a custom at stores near good fishing lakes, a bulletin board covered with photos of people holding fish they caught hangs near the front door of the Lake Roesiger Store. (Dan Bates / The Herald)
At the back door to the Lake Roesiger Store, owner Kevin Hickson’s daughter, Rachel Hickson, 22, watches activity nearby. The covered back area serves as a beer garden and work space. She lives in the apartment above the store. (Dan Bates / The Herald)
Kevin Hickson recently put the Lake Roesiger Store up for sale. He has owned and run the store for about seven years. (Dan Bates / The Herald)

A year shy of its 80th anniversary, the Lake Roesiger Store is for sale.

“Opportunity knocks!” says the real estate listing, which puts the asking price for the 2,044-square-foot building and the property at $688,000. The ad touts the rustic landmark at 810 S. Lake Roesiger Road, established in 1939, as “a true community store” with “no competition for 9 miles.”

Store visitors enter from a shaded front porch, where a couple of old rocking chairs invite folks to sit a spell. Inside is a glimpse of lake life from bygone days. Along with a modest supply of groceries and an ample selection of beer and wine, the store sells fishing tackle, the makings of s’mores, flip-flops, swim goggles, Atomic Fireball jawbreakers and other treats.

“We call it the nothing-healthy store,” joked Rachel Hickson, the 22 -year-old daughter of store owner Kevin Hickson.

At 55, Kevin Hickson hopes to sell the store and have time to travel. His fiance lives in the Philippines, where he spent several months last year. He bought the store in 2011 for $250,000. It’s open seven days a week.

Brian Vignjevic, of Everett-based KR Business Brokers, is handling the listing. The store has been for sale since April 4. “So far there are no serious offers — mostly curiosity,” Vignjevic said Wednesday. “My hope and Kevin’s is that we can find a buyer that will continue running this store in a tradition of previous owners.”

Lake Roesiger’s population is a mix of year-round residents and cabin owners there for summer vacations, weekends and holidays, Hickson said. His store’s decor — with animal-head trophies, antiques and snapshots of people holding fish they caught — is a throwback to the days when log cabins were the norm and there were few fancy lakeside homes.

“I will miss it, absolutely. A lot of community people don’t want me to sell it,” said Hickson, who plans to continue living in his house on Lake Roesiger. The lake is about a dozen miles east of Lake Stevens. “It’s a community center,” he said. “Everybody comes here to talk.”

Hickson, who worked in the mortgage business before the recession, is also a volunteer firefighter with Fire District 16, the Lake Roesiger Fire Department. At times, he has put a “Gone to fire” sign on the store’s door.

His daughter, who is getting married next month at her dad’s home, works in the store and lives in the upstairs apartment. She was behind the counter Monday when longtime customer Tiffany Hoenshell came in with her son, Sawyer, who’s 4.

At the coffee bar, which is crafted from a log, Sawyer ordered hot chocolate. Outside, temperatures were in the high 80s. That didn’t matter to Sawyer. “It’s our tradition, to come to the store and get hot chocolate,” Hoenshell said.

“This place has been an institution,” said Jay Espeland, 61, who lives nearby along the Pilchuck River. While buying cheese and a six-pack of Longboard Island Lager, he recalled getting candy there as a kid. His favorites then were Milk Duds, Snickers or maybe a Big Hunk.

At the gas pump out front, the Hicksons sell non-ethanol fuel. “Pure gas is great for boat tanks and chain saws,” said Kevin Hickson, who listed a few other sources of non-ethanol gas in Snohomish County. In 2015, his gas pump stopped working. His older daughter, Jessica Godfrey, helped raise money for the fix through an online fundraiser.

The store, which has a beer garden out back, rents paddle boards, kayaks, a canoe and a 14-foot fishing boat. Hickson sometimes paddles to work. “How many people can do that?” he said.

The store has had a number of owners. A celebration of its 60th anniversary in July 1999 was complete with live music, burgers on the grill, and a carnival-style dunk tank. Arlis and Jim Clarke owned it at the time, having bought it from Bob Fenton, who worked in real estate.

The late Lyle Inman, who had Lake Roesiger Realty and Inman Construction, told The Herald in 1999 that he bought the store from his brother in 1954. Inman died early this year at age 88.

Bait worms were the big sellers in 1999, Arlis Clarke told The Herald back then. This week, Rachel Hickson said energy drinks were flying out of the store.

Her dad, a widower, “is just looking to retire,” she said.

“The store has been a fun thing, but we need to pass it on,” Rachel Hickson said. “We’re definitely patient. We’re just kind of looking for the right buyer. It’s a community hub of a place.”

Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460; jmuhlstein@herald net.com.

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