Businesses bloom in Nome and Kotzebue.

• Author: Levi, Steve
• Position: Business in the Arctic - Company profile

Businesses Bloom In Nome and Kotzebue

IF YOU ARE FROM ANCHORAGE, Kotzebue is not the most pleasant place to be in the winter. The temperature doesn't get that low, not as low as it does in Fairbanks or Northway, but it does get nippy. What makes Kotzebue unusual is the wind. There is wind almost every day, and when the temperature drops to 10 above and there's a 40 knot wind, it gets chilly.

But the only thing chilly about Kotzebue these days is the weather. Business is hot here above the Arctic Circle. A local boom brought about by development of the Red Dog Mine has stimulated the community's economy.

Businesses here are doing so well that expansion is the order of the day. Some not only are growing but are diversifying into new markets. New businesses are appearing, and even the local branch of National Bank of Alaska is adding on a back room.

Arctic Fabrics, for instance, is hardly the type of store you would expect to see in Kotzebue. Specializing in material for clothing, the store has been in the black since it opened 14 months ago. Hadley Hess, the owner, is seriously considering expanding - to double the size of her current space.

"Business has been pretty good," she says. "I've been doing between $3,000 and $4,000 a month since I opened, and business is getting better, even with the bad fishing season (this past year)." The shop itself is modest, about 225 square feet in size. Hess rents the space for $400 a month, and heating is the largest utility cost at $160 a month in the winter.

A one-person shop, Arctic Fabrics was opened in a converted garage on Fifth Street, away from the tourist area. "Almost all of my customers are locals," Hess notes. She says her only problem has been stocking printed velveteen. "A lot of the people here like the fancy parkys with it, but it's hard to find," Hess adds.

Next door to Arctic Fabrics is Ron Brown's Arctic Sun Video. Brown has been in business for two and half years and operates the only video store in town. He built the building himself, living in the loft and leaving the main floor available for his business.

"I'm a civil engineer by trade, now I'm making popcorn," he says. "I started out with 300 videos, and now I've got over 2,500. Kids' videos rent for $1.50 a piece, and I've got scads at $1.50. There's not that much for kids to do here in Kotzebue."

Business has been so good that Brown is expanding. He bought an $8,000 computer program to keep track of his inventory and has all of...