Three bears Alaska: 'still growing strong'.

• Author: Anderson, Tasha
• Position: SPECIAL SECTION: 2016 Top 49ers

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

In 2010, Alaska Business Monthly highlighted Three Bears Alaska, which had grown from a single 12,000-square-foot grocery store in Tok in 1980 to six stores (four of which are 40,000 to 63,000 square feet), two Outposts (which sell sporting goods), and four fuel stations. The company had 343 employees and revenue of approximately $111 million. For 2015 Three Bears reports $175 million in gross revenue and their employees have grown by 160 percent to 560. Additionally, the company now boasts eleven stores, seven Outposts, and eight fuel stations. Three Bears, which was "still growing strong" in 2010, has only ramped up their growth.

Finding Opportunities

President David Weisz says, "We look for opportunities and then sometimes we have to create opportunities. We aim for a controlled growth--what we feel is something that won't hurt us moving forward. Sometimes opportunities just land on your lap, and sometimes an opportunity isn't an opportunity and you have to pass up on it."

He says one example of a prime opportunity was acquiring the Big Lake IGA on Big Lake Road, which had been owned by Omni. "It was unfortunate for Omni that they got into the position they did. We were the first folks they had contacted thinking it might be a really good fit for us--we know how to run stores in smaller communities." He says the store, which re-opened in April 2015, is doing well for the community and company.

That was the first location there, but their newest property is also located in Big Lake, a convenience store, gas station, and liquor store combination located at 14468 W. Hollywood Road, which opened in August. The convenience store combination is located on a property across the street from the first store on property Three Bears purchased at the time of the IGA acquisition. "In a few years we're going to build a brand new grocery store in Big Lake," Weisz says. "We would need more space to offer more products to the community."

The new building will be located behind the convenience store combination, replacing the Three Bears' current grocery store in the IGA location. The current space is approximately 16,000 square feet, and only about 12,000 or 13,000 square feet of that is retail selling space. Their plans for a new building will approximately double the available selling space. "It's a forty-mile round trip to Wasilla to buy something; the more product we can offer out there, it just saves the folks that live there...