Marx Pursues New Adventures After Owning Rovero's for More than 20 Years

SEELEY LAKE – Owned by Addrien Marx since August 1995, Greg Tabish of Missoula will officially become the new owner of Rovero’s as of March 1. Addrien is looking forward to a new chapter in her life and is confident she is leaving her “Rovero’s family” in good hands. The community is invited to a “Good Luck, Best Wishes” open house luncheon with snacks, beverages and cake Friday, Feb. 26 from 12-4 p.m. at the store.

After purchasing land for their retirement home in the late 1970s, Addrien and her husband Larry decided they did not want to wait for retirement to live in Seeley Lake. They started Marx Construction and built approximately 250 homes and several other commercial businesses including 1st Valley Bank (now Citizens Alliance Bank), the Valley Market (now Cory’s Valley Market), Wilderness Gateway Inn, Double Arrow Condos and others.

Larry also built the new Rovero’s building, in its current location, for owners Martin and Vera Cahoon. When Martin had a heart attack just a month after opening the new store, the Cahoons were looking to sell.

“Larry came home one day and said, ‘You know, I always wanted a hardware store,’” said Addrien. “I said let’s go for it.”

The Marxes sold everything they had to purchase the business.

“Even then we should have never gotten this business,” said Addrien. “1st Valley Bank went out on a limb for us. It turned out a win-win for both of us.”

When they first took over they were a TrueValue store. After a couple of years of not being able to get the inventory they needed in a timely way, they switched to Ace Hardware.

Larry would open the business at 6 a.m. He managed the hardware and gas side of the business. Addrien would come over after their children were off to school. She focused her energies on the food services including the deli and pizzas.

They closed at 8 p.m. and then would clean for two hours. Every Thursday, the loads would come in and they would tag up to 3,000 items by hand often until 4 a.m.

Prior to putting in the credit card readers on the gas pumps, Addrien said they would often get calls in the middle night from people who needed fuel. She was concerned about people not coming into the store for snacks and food if they could pay for gas at the pumps. But, Addrien said, people still came into the store and she and Larry got to sleep at night.

“There were blessings along the way but they were earned,” said Addrien. “It was excitement, it was belief in yourself and belief in the community that this was going to be a fantastic place. My biggest regret is that Larry is not here to see it. He dearly loved it.” Larry died in 2003, just eight years into owning Rovero’s.

“When Larry died my eyes were really opened and I don’t know how I would have survived without the community of Seeley Lake,” said Addrien. “It gave me all the bases to be strong and move forward.”

For the past 12 years Addrien’s goal has been to be a service-based business that provides for the needs and answers questions for the community. Rovero’s offers specialized services including key and glass cutting and pipe threading that Addrien feels adds value to the business more than they are moneymakers. Although they don’t have the floor space to stock everything that Ace Hardware offers, customers can order products and have them delivered to the store in the same week.

“We used to have one or two orders a week,” said Addrien. “Now we have sheets of orders per week. People take advantage of that because the pricing is the same [as Missoula], they don’t have to make a special trip and we have guys out here that know how to answer their questions.”

Other improvements to the business over the past 20 years have included: additional parking, upgrading the septic system, installing a new walk-in cooler, remodeling the front of the building, upgrading their paint department and adding surveillance and an alarm system.

Rovero’s has achieved national recognition from Ace Hardware and is in the top three percent of the nation by Orion Foods for their food prep and cleanliness.

Another of Addrien’s goals has been for her team of employees to have a sense of pride in their work, enjoy those they work with and the customers they serve. She has high expectations and has worked hard to ensure that her employees are treated well and are earning the wages they deserve. While Rovero’s started with around 12 employees, including seasonal help, now Rovero’s employs just under 20 people year round.

“The reason this place is successful is because of the people that work here, none other. Management has brought in a level of excellence, understanding and experience that has been invaluable. The people out on the floor and the girls that work in Hot Stuff, I tell them every year, ‘You are the best workers there are in this valley.’”

Addrien feels that she has been able to give back to the community not only financially but also with her time. She has seen Rovero’s become a “social center” for Seeley Lake. She maintained that her door was always open for anyone in the community who wanted to come in and chat.

Addrien feels strongly that Rovero’s reflects the diversity of the valley. Whether it is meeting the needs of the timber industry, the tourism economy, the recreationists, or a local community member, she has tried to provide for all of those needs.

“If I missed any one of those single components, we are starting in failure,” said Addrien. “It takes that whole diversity to make it work.”

The Marxes raised five children while owning Rovero’s and all of them were involved in the business. Addrien said, “They were influenced by the work ethic, the community, the small town and the beautiful area that I call our backyard. That’s what makes them incredible people.”

Addrien realized that she needed to move on to the next chapter in her life. While two of her children may have been interested in purchasing the business, that was never her and Larry’s intent.

“We discussed what this business would mean to our kids and upon sale, it would spread out the benefit for all of our kids and support them all in their endeavors in their life,” said Addrien. “It gives me great gratification to see that expectation met.”

Addrien approached her long-time gasoline distributor and owner of Great West Petroleum Greg Tabish and said, “‘Greg, I have an idea for you and it’s an adoption not a sale.”

Tabish was the first person that came to mind for Addrien because she thought he could afford the business, would give back to the employees and the community and grow the business in the excellence that it has always maintained.

“It was more than just a business deal that involved people within the walls of Rovero’s and it involved the community. He’s a family man, a good man, and he has many businesses and his employees could not be happier,” said Addrien. “I knew he had the backing for this business and the understanding but most importantly, I’ve watched him do business and have known his employees and have been impressed with their contentedness and his ability to similarly treat them like family.”

Addrien does not expect that customers will see much change in employment or structure for the first year of Tabish’s ownership. She hopes he will use his ability to grow the business with a new level of expertise that he brings.

Addrien is looking forward to spending time with her grandchildren, climbing peaks and spending more time with her husband, Frenchtown business owner Jim McLean, staying vested in the community and being an advocate for the community in a different way.

“I cannot leave Rovero’s without being very reflective and emotional because it’s my baby, it’s a part of Larry, a part of our family and a part of our extended family that work together day-by-day,” said Addrien. “Seeley Lake will always be our home. It’s at the heart and soul of who I am.”

 

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