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Ex-autoworker, wife find new vocation with Dollar Store
Kristofer Karol
FOWLERVILLE - Like
thousands of other people in the auto industry, Mike Krusinski accepted
a buyout package from Chrysler last year.
But rather than working
for another company, Krusinski and his wife Gayle decided to start their
own.
"Things were getting
tough in the auto industry with the loss of the shift I was working on,
the shift premium and with the (union) contract coming up and
everything," Mike Krusinski said. "We were looking for an opportunity
always to do other things, if the opportunity ever presented itself." |
Since it did, the couple opened Fowlerville-based Sunny Side Station in late August. The Business which is off South Grand Avenue in the Gladiator Junction shopping center, specializes in toys, crafts, school supplies, seasonal products and some dollar-store items.
"Like a lot of people, we sold on eBay before and this was the next step," Gayle Krusinski said.
Sunny Side Station took over the former Dollar Dazzle space. Mike Krusinski said he did not think the store could survive solely on selling dollar products, hence is what he calls a "variety store." While the Krusinskis are still getting their feet wet, they won't be the new kids on the block for long. A Wal-Mart "supercenter" is scheduled to open just down the road this spring.
The couple is hoping business will still be good because the store carries special products such as Melissa and Doug brand toys and puppets. "That's why we have these kind of toys, as opposed to the ones you could find at the big-box stores," Gayle Krusinski said.
Everything in the store is hand-picked, she said, with her husband adding that they'll take input from customers as to what they'd like to see. Mike Krusinski said it can easily be a one-stop experience, with customers being able to buy a toy, gift bag and card under one roof.
