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High end kitchen store is gourmet Mecca in McCook
By Gene O. Morris
You, as a shopper, know the feeling. It happens rarely; but it happens. It is the sense of wonder and adventure that takes place when you discover a really special store.
The uplifting feeling rises higher and brighter when it's unexpected. For that reason, a high-end kitchenware store in McCook, Nebraska has been bringing raves of praise throughout the 10 years of its existence.
Located “on the bricks” in downtown McCook, Nebraska, the store known as Knowlen & Yates has captured the imagination of shoppers from both far and near. Saluting the store as a symbol of Nebraska excellence, Geitner Simmons of the Omaha World-Herald called attention to Knowlen & Yates' "eye-popping pizzazz." Even though the kitchenware store is located in a town of 8,000 population, the Omaha editorial writer said "it is easy to imagine in Omaha's Old Market," which is centered in a metropolitan market of more than 500,000 people.
The “Rawhide” connection.
What's the secret? What sets this store apart? Why do area shoppers and visitors make Knowlen & Yates a must stop on their visits to McCook?
It boils down to the owner's passion for what he does. "I've been a fan and student of cooking and cooking equipment all of my adult life," said Mike Ford, who joined with his wife, Laura, to create the store.
"We started fantasizing about having a store like this 20 years ago," Mike said. "We talked about it often when we were sitting around the kitchen table or riding together on trips, bouncing ideas off each other, mostly just to pass time. I came up with the name, Knowlen & Yates in 1993 while watching an old Rawhide show on TBS. "That's it, I shouted to Laura, when I heard the trail cook boast that he represented the firm of 'Knowlen & Yates Cattle Company.' The reference was to Sheb Wooley, who played Pete Knowlen, and Clint Eastwood, who played Rowdy Yates in the Rawhide series."
Mike and Laura held on to the kitchen store dream, and — finally — in October of 1998 they turned their dream into reality. Knowlen & Yates was born with a stock of cookware, bakeware, cutlery and culinary tools.
A rising interest in fine food.
At the time, the focus on fine foods was spreading nationwide and Knowlen & Yates quickly found an avid following. "Good food has always been at the center of American life," Ford said, "but in the past few years it has become even more fun and fulfilling. Thanks to the popularity of the Food Network and the Martha Stewart shows on cable, the art and science of cooking and cookware has reached every corner of the nation."
Fortunately for Mike Ford, the upsurge of interest in fine food coincided with the birth and growth of the kitchenware store he and his wife founded. "Laura and I are very lucky people," Mike said. "Our vision for the store was 'spot on'. From day one, our customers have recognized the advantages of quality in cookware. As I keep telling our customers, 'Not all soup pots are created equal. The pot you get for $100 will most likely last a lifetime, but that $25 pot you buy at the big box store could be shot in a short while.'"
At Knowlen & Yates, America's fascination with cooking and kitchenware comes alive. Except when he and Laura travel to international markets in Chicago, Dallas and San Francisco, Mike Ford is most often the one and only person on duty at the kitchenware store. And, for food lovers and quality cookware shoppers, that's a bonus. Mike knows food through and through ... not only how to prepare it, but also how to serve it and savor it.
“A beautiful day on the bricks.”
Laura operates another dynamic retail business, Country Floral, across McCook's brick-paved main street. "Laura and I are exactly where we want to be, doing exactly what we want to do," Mike said.
A term Mike coined sums up their satisfied feeling: "It's a beautiful day on the bricks in downtown McCook," he declares. And why not? As editorial writer Simmons proclaimed in the World-Herald, "A stable downtown can be a precious resource for a community. In that regard, McCook, an ambitious middle-sized city in Nebraska's southwest corner, is mightily blessed."
Come see for yourself. Shopping is a pleasurable adventure at Knowlen & Yates — a main street Mecca that reminds us of the age-old importance of good food and the new-found focus on quality cookware.
Who To Contact...
Mike Ford
Knowlen & Yates
315 Norris Ave.
Mc Cook, NE 69001
phone: (308) 345-4848
www.knowlenandyates.com
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