Chamber Spotlight: Kindersley Castle
By Kevin Martin, Kindersley Chamber of Commerce
Melody Fries and Richard Reaburn are 2 of the owners of Kindersley Castle Building Centre and had their Grand Opening in 2016 to much fanfare and questions; like, do we really need another hardware/lumber yard? Is it sustainable? Well the answer is a resounding YES!
Let’s go back a bit to see how we came to this point. Melody was born and raised in Kindersley and it was her father Ralph Warman who started and built up Namraw Lumber. For those who like irony, Namraw is Warman spelled backwards! Ralph had an awesome business for about 30 years (1980 to 2010) before he sold out to Home Hardware in 2010 and then promptly retired in 2011. Daughter Melody worked the yard and many other areas learning the business but as she told me, “It was tough being a girl in a mans’ business. He was happy to have me there, just not out in the yard” said Melody. Richard is from the Eston area and started working for Ralph in 1988.
As Home Hardware wound down its operations here (they closed in 2017 due to insolvency), Melody had decided to take the summer off to reflect on what she really wanted to do. Richard had gone to the oil patch to work and was in need of change. The money was good he said but the work not so challenging.
Melody had worked for Sheldon Goodheart for a while before he brought up the idea of opening a lumberyard together. “It was a good 3 or 4 months before I took him seriously and even considered it” she said. Sheldon also talked to Richard who wasn’t enjoying what he was doing and he realized that he missed the customers. Both Melody and Richard quit Home Hardware in June 2014.
As it turned out, in the Spring of 2015, they both decided to get on board with Sheldon’s idea of starting the new building centre. There were some difficult days to be sure they both said but they perservered and the decision was made to buy out Sheldon and go out on their own in 2018. This also was a good opportunity for Ryan Fries to become a partner. “Did we go too big too fast” was a question they asked themselves frequently. It seems everything worked out though and they have expanded and carry many more things than the first year of opening.
Some customers coming in to the store seem quite surprised that they carry flooring and blinds. Melody said that they try to offer a complete home renovation "one stop shopping experience". If they don't have it in the store today, they can have it in the store very quickly for you, sometimes even the next day!
I noticed a very broad selection of baseboard trim, Milwaukee and Mikita power tools, ladders and an up to date paint centre where any colour you want can be mixed. Need a key cut? They do that as well.
Kindersley Castle Building Centre has been a member of the Chamber of Commerce since 2016 and they support many local groups, minor baseball being one of them. There are currently 6 staff who can take care of your requests from opening to closing time. This successful business gives strength to the old adage; If you build it, they will come!