3/26/2023 0 Comments Pilgrims cda![]() ![]() We have MDs, PhDs, naturopaths who advise us on decisions, what we should and shouldn't do. We've assembled a medical advisory board. That's really rewarding.īecause of the nature of what we do, and dealing with people's health, I've taken that very seriously. They come back, they're overjoyed and excited. We help people with serious health crises all the time. You really feel good about what you're doing, and you generally believe you're doing a service to the community. In every business, you always have to know what are the new products, what are people asking for, any business does that. They want to buy foods that are produced locally.Īnd all three of those things are growing. You get people who are here for environmental, socio-economic reasons. We have wine enthusiasts, beer enthusiasts. We don't allow any of those products in the store. We carry a lot of foods that other stores don't, that would kind of be considered gourmet, I guess, although there are gourmet foods out there we don't carry, the ones that have objectionable ingredients like high-fructose corn syrup, artificial flavorings or sweeteners, MSG, trans fats. Then you get people who are foodies, who want better quality food. So, you have people that shop for medical reasons. Diet has single-handedly been shown many times to reverse heart disease, to reverse diabetes, and even type 2 diabetes, insulin-dependent diabetes. One is they're ill and they feel if they look for a natural approach within supplements, which can really help acute health conditions, even diet can. Why do you think the field of health food is growing? So now, it's about a total of 25,000 square feet.ĭid you see the potential for growth early? Couple years later we added 2,000 square feet, and another year and a half added another 2,000 feet and then about a year and a half after that we took over this big space where Liquidation World was. A year after that, we moved across the street, took a 4,000-square-foot space here. I still worked for my dad a little bit over the next few years, but kind of increasingly over here and decreasingly there. Increasingly, my time was spent over here. It had gourmet foods in it, it had produce. This store in Coeur d'Alene became available for very little money, so my wife and I were able to purchase that. He had five stores in Spokane at that time, vitamin stores, nutrition. I worked for him for about five years, from about '94 to '99. My dad, he kind of made me an offer I couldn't refuse. ![]() I worked for about a year to two years for my own company called Northwest Outdoors School. And then he had a plant down in Chico, Calif. He had one of the largest granola manufacturing plants in the country. In his prime, he probably had 15-20 stores. He worked in and grew a natural food business, all the way up until now. I was born in 1970 so that was five years before I was born. There were a handful of natural food stores in the country in 1965. He purchased a store in downtown Spokane, and at that time it was one of the oldest stores in the country. My dad (Tom) was in the natural food business from the time I was born, really. How did you get your start in this business? "We see ourselves having multiple stores in this region," he said. Joe Hamilton, who grew up in Liberty Lake and graduated from Eastern Washington University with a degree in outdoor recreation, said Pilgrim's employs about 50 and has a payroll around the million dollar mark. "We like what we do here," Hamilton says with a smile as he sits in his office set in a back room of the store. It prides itself in offering homegrown, natural products. One section is devoted entirely to supplements and is essentially a wellness center with staff ready to field questions and point people in the right direction toward a healthier lifestyle. Fourth with organic produce, gourmet cheese, energy drinks and bars, beer and wine, bulk foods, and a meat and deli departments. Today, Pilgrim's fills 25,000 square at 1316 N. What started in 1999 when he and wife Sarah purchased a small health food store, "A Trip To Bountiful" in Coeur d'Alene, has grown to become one of the area's most striking success stories. ![]() "This is really the only store of this kind," said Joe Hamilton, founder and CEO. There are many shops that offer select beers and wines. There are lots of places to buy supplements. There are plenty of stores where you can buy food. ![]()
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