Moving Home Base

DAYTON - Its doors haven't officially opened yet, but the new Hometown Carpet & More store on Main Street is already busy with customers.

"Just yesterday, I had five or six walk ins - people with projects," co-owner Teeny McMunn said on Thursday. "People are finding us."

That official opening date is June 1, she said, but the 600-square-foot store front next to Jacci's Yarns (formerly the quilt shop), is pretty much ready with dozens of carpet, tile and even cork flooring samples.

"We can't have it all here at the store," McMunn said. "But we can resource lots of products."

This is not a new venture for McMunn, who runs the store with her ex-husband and longtime business partner Steve McMunn. The duo has been in flooring retail and installation for almost two and a half decades.

Though it might be unusual for most parting couples to stay in business together, Teeny and Steve said they were comfortable in their separate roles and saw no reason to end their professional relationship even if their marital one ended.

"Joan, Steve's wife, and I are good friends and she is a great person," she said.

Although Teeny and Steve both interacts with customers, she will order the product, while he comes to their location to take measurements and pave the way for installations.

She was born in Miles City, Montana, but moved to Spokane at age 18 to attend Kinman business college. Steve's dad moved to Dayton in the mid 1950s and had a small logging operation in the area. Mc- Munn the son graduated from DHS in 1963.

After they were married in 1988, the partners set up a company called Trade Center and had stores in Spokane, Deer Park and Walla Walla. After the business flat lined following the 9-11 attacks, the two just kept the Walla Walla store as an Abbey Carpets franchise. Steve had already moved to Dayton and Teeny relocated there a decade ago.

But in April, the landlord of their Walla Walla store on Isaacs sold the building and the duo was left scrambling for a new business home.

"We weren't quite sure what to do at first," Teeny said. "We had to move by April 1 and we were in limbo."

But Teeny and Steve had a loyal following among Touchet Valley customers coming to their Walla Walla store and with the price of gas going up, they figured patrons here might prefer to shop locally over driving to the big box stores in Walla Walla.

" We' ve been very pleased with the support and the way Dayton has welcomed us," Teeny said. "People like not having to travel."

Aside from ordering flooring products, Hometown also installs it, a service more than two-thirds of its customers take advantage of, she said.

Hometown will be open Tuesdays and Wednesday 12-5pm, Thursdays and Fridays 12-6 pm and Saturdays 10 am- 6 pm. Morning hours are under consideration as well. For more information, call 509- 382-3188.