From 11 Years Old to President: Lisa Cooper on Carrying a Legacy

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Dana Alligood: Welcome to How to
Wake Up Your Business, a podcast

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from the Wake Forest University
Center for Private Business.

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Lisa Cooper: It'll make me
emotional about this one.

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Aw.

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I think, I think it really has to
do that it was just a passion of

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theirs to give back to the community-
Mm-hmm … a gem and a treasure, and the

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hard work that they put into it- Yeah

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to make it happen.

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That people might be able to
assume that this is just easy.

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Yeah, it's easy.

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It was just an easy process, but it was
a lot of hard work and- Yeah … genuine

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care and love for the community.

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Right.

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And, uh, you look at my parents and
what they've done, they've changed

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the outlook of Watauga County- Yeah

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by selling everything they had when
they're in their 30s- They sure did

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… and making a difference, jumping into a
community- They sure did … not knowing

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what- Yeah … the future would hold.

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Dana Alligood: Welcome to
How to Wake Up Your Business.

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This podcast shines a spotlight
on North Carolina businesses and

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what it really takes to lead, grow,
govern, and transition privately

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Lisa Cooper: held businesses.

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Thanks for joining us.

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Dana Alligood: Hello, and welcome to How
to Wake Up Your Business with Wake Forest

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University Center for Private Business.

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We are joining you live from
Asheville today at The Velvet Wind.

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So I want to thank The
Velvet Wind for hosting us.

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And today, we have Lisa Cooper here with
us with Mast General Store, and we're

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here to celebrate the legacy of her and
her family, and really share the story

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of the store that refused to close.

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So Lisa, welcome.

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Thank you for joining us.

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Lisa Cooper: Thank you for having me.

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Dana Alligood: Yes.

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So, um, Mast General Store was
founded in Valle Crucis, so

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there is a, a long history.

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It was back in the 1850s, I think,
when the first family that started the

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store, um, started in 1850, and then it
transitioned to maybe two other families

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before your family came to own it, right?

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And it was 1979 when your parents bought
the store, and you were a little girl,

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and you actually moved into the store.

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Yeah.

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So can you tell us a little bit
about your first memories of Mast

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General Store, and what you remember
of living- It- … above the store?

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Lisa Cooper: It was a wild ride.

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My parents found the ski slopes in North
Carolina when I was six, seven years old.

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So we came up to visit and they
roamed the back roads in Valle

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Crucis- Oh … and found the original
store when it was still open.

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Um, it was after the Mast family had sold
it, and my parents fell in love with it.

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And when they came back in 1979,
the store has, had been closed.

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Right.

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And so they came in and
thought, "We should save it."

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Dana Alligood: Okay.

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Lisa Cooper: And I called them crazy.

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Mm-hmm.

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It was absolutely a leap of faith.

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Yeah.

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They had finally landed
in Winter Park, Florida-

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Dana Alligood: Okay

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… Lisa Cooper: with good jobs and-
Right … a nice normal neighborhood.

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Yeah.

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And they said, "Well, we're gonna
sell everything, buy an old general

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store in the middle of nowhere-
Wow … and open it back up."

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Um, my mom was telling
the tale last night.

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I was devastated.

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I

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Dana Alligood: bet.

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I bet.

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Lisa Cooper: It was…
Uh, I was 11 years old.

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Oh.

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I had a great life in- Yeah … in
Winter Park, Florida, and

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they turned it upside down.

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The store had been closed one
day, and they walked away, and

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it was a mess on the inside.

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Wow.

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So they had a lot of cleaning up to
do, and build the apartment upstairs,

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and, uh, reopened the doors in 1980.

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Yeah.

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1980. June of, June 6th of 1980-
Okay … they reopened the doors.

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Dana Alligood: So you're
an 11-year-old girl.

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What do you remember about the Mast
General, that, that store, that,

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that one that's in Valle Crucis?

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What do you remember about the
building, or what it looked

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like, or what it smelled like?

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Or, you know, have

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Lisa Cooper: memories like that?

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It just seemed really
dirty and, and a real mess.

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Okay.

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We've opened some doors that have been
as dirty- Yeah … as this store was.

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Yeah.

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But it was unopened, uh, rotted food
and drinks that had busted open.

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I bet.

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And it was, um… A lot of time
I spent, "What have they done to

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me?" And I shed a few tears- I
bet … along the way, uh- Yeah, yeah

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as they were putting it together.

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So, um- Yeah … several months of very
hard work and figuring out what goods

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they needed to put on the shelves-
Right … to take care of the community.

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Dana Alligood: Yeah.

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Lisa Cooper: Um, it was
a big leap of faith.

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They were in their young
30s when this happened.

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Yeah.

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And I just look back amazed-
Wow … at the risk that they took.

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I, I was

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Dana Alligood: gonna s- ask you that.

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I'm thinking now as an adult and, and
running the store, you look back at

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your younger version of your parents,
which is always kinda hard to think

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of our parents as being young and in
their 30s, but, um, do you have a better

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understanding of why- They made this

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Lisa Cooper: Yeah.

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It, it, truly they were tired of
what they called the rat race.

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Dana Alligood: Mm.

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Lisa Cooper: They didn't like, you know,
how people treated other people at work.

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Mm-hmm.

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They weren't … My dad didn't feel
like he was happy at his workplace.

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Right.

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And he thought, "Well, I can recreate
this. We'll have a small family business

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in the mountains of North Carolina."

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Dana Alligood: Right.

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Lisa Cooper: And truly it was a leap of
faith, and it was very slow progress.

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Mm. When they opened it up, they basically
had a room and a half full of merchandise.

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Dana Alligood: Wow.

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Lisa Cooper: They had gas and groceries,
and they leaned into the community

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to say, "What do you want out of your
general- Yeah … store now that we're-

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Right … reopening it back up?" And the
community said, "I want a post office."

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Dana Alligood: Ah, okay.

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" Lisa Cooper: I want our post office back."

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Dana Alligood: Right.

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Okay.

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Lisa Cooper: And so October 1980, they
got the ZIP code back for Valle Crucis-

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Okay … and reopened the post office.

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Dana Alligood: Okay.

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Lisa Cooper: And that's where the
hub of the community- Right … would

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come in and get their mail, have
their coffee in the morning.

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Dana Alligood: Right,

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Lisa Cooper: right.

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Still a nickel cup of coffee
available at the original store.

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Back then?

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Dana Alligood: Wow.

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Lisa Cooper: Today you
can get a ni- Even today?

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A nickel?

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Dana Alligood: Okay.

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Lisa Cooper: You can get a nickel
cup of coffee at the- We're

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gonna have to agree … store.

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One of the things that the carry on
the traditions- Yeah … that they had.

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Yeah.

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And so, um, the post
office still runs today.

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And-

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Dana Alligood: Right

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… Lisa Cooper: I laughed, it wasn't too
long ago that I was in there getting

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my mail, and a customer's like, "This
is how people used to get their mail."

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Right, have to come in.

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And I quietly walked in front of the-
Yeah … mother/daughter and got my

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mail and sort of- Isn't that funny?

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… walked out thinking- Yeah … they
just stepped back in time for a minute.

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They did,

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Dana Alligood: right?

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Lisa Cooper: They did.

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Uh, so it's been a great-

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Dana Alligood: Well, when I was r-
um, reading about your parents, there

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were two questions that they asked.

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Do you remember what those were
when they opened the store?

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One was around, you mentioned community.

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Like, they talked about what
does this community need, right?

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Do you remember that?

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Mm-hmm.

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And then also the other question
was, what would a general store need

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in today, uh, today's world, right?

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Because back in 1850s it
was very different, right?

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That's where the community came to
trade, right, if they had goods.

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They might not have had money, but
they would come and trade goods.

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They would trade

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Lisa Cooper: chickens and services

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Dana Alligood: and- Chickens.

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All those things, right?

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Lisa Cooper: You know, there was
a … People bought stuff on credit.

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Mm-hmm.

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We had, we operated under
credit for several years- Yeah

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after opening, so people would
pay their bill when they got paid.

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Right, right.

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And, you know, finally we had-
Yeah … to stop the credit thing.

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Dana Alligood: Yeah.

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I bet, yeah.

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Um, so those are, that, that
was very telling about your

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family and your parents.

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So you mentioned about how you didn't,
they didn't like how people were

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treated at work, but also their view
of community and, and a community

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that they weren't part of, right?

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They were up here on vacation or going
skiing with you and your siblings.

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Um, do you have, how many siblings?

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Lisa Cooper: I have, I have a brother-

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Dana Alligood: Brother, okay … who,

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Lisa Cooper: sorry, passed in a car
wreck- Oh, okay … many years ago, so.

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Dana Alligood: Okay.

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Oh, I'm sorry.

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Lisa Cooper: It's okay.

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Dana Alligood: Sorry about that.

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Um, yes, so when I think about
your family, this is a, um, your

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parents set the example for you
to be a steward in the community.

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And, you know, at Wake Forest we call
it Pro Humanitate, for everyone, right?

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Yes.

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That's what Pro Humanitate means.

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And so you are living that.

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And, um, and I'm just curious, what are
some of the lessons you learned from your

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parents as you decided to be the steward
of this legacy from a- general store.

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Lisa Cooper: It was,
uh, a lot of hard work.

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Um, what I learned from my parents is if
you're gonna work in the organization,

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you're gonna work in the organization.

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Right.

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And, uh, you spoke to my brother briefly.

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My brother was fired a couple times
from the organization 'cause he, uh,

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kind of- Ah … didn't work as hard-
Uh-huh … as my parents wanted him to,

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or didn't show up or something like that.

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Right.

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And so I knew from watching that happen
that if I wanted- Yeah … to keep my job

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at the business- You really had to show
up and work hard … I would participate.

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Yeah.

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I would, I would show up.

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I'd pump people's gas.

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Dana Alligood: Okay.

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Wow.

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Lisa Cooper: Make them a deli sandwich.

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We had a deli in the early days-
Yeah … because there was no

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place to get food in Valley Cruces.

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Dana Alligood: Yeah.

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Lisa Cooper: Right.

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So my mom would make soups and sandwiches.

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Oh.

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And so I feel like the hospitality that
they wanted to provide- Mm-hmm … the

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people, anybody who walked through the
door- Right … is kind of the foundation

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of the business is- Yeah … you come
into a Mass store, we p- Do our best

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to make our employees happy- Yeah

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so that they're happy- Yeah
… taking care of our customers.

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That's right.

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And that's kind of the foundation
of what they had because they didn't

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start- Right … with any employees.

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Yeah,

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Dana Alligood: yeah.

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Lisa Cooper: And then it was slow growth.

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They got one employee and two employees-
Yes, yes … and it just… I call

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it very much organic growth- Okay

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of the organization.

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Yep.

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I don't think they would have had any
idea that we'd have 12 doors, um- Right.

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That's amazing … and that it
would continue to grow- Yeah … and

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grow into other communities.

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So- Yeah … the foundation of the
work ethic was, I told my mom just

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yesterday, I'm like- Aw … "Yeah,
I h- I didn't, nothing was handed

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to me in this organization."

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Dana Alligood: Right,

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Lisa Cooper: right.

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That's really hard.

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Um, and part of my pride in leading
this company and being where I am

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today is that- Yeah … my leadership
team said, "You're the president.

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You've gotta step up and do it."

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Dana Alligood: Wow.

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Lisa Cooper: And so being- There
you go … asked was such an honor-

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Dana Alligood: Yeah

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… Lisa Cooper: to carry on-
Right … the family tradition- Right

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by my coworkers.

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Dana Alligood: Well, you know, that's
such a, um, an important time to family

00:09:00.056 --> 00:09:02.935
businesses when there's this transition,
right- Mm-hmm … from one generation

00:09:02.935 --> 00:09:06.605
to the next, and sometimes I think the
next generation can feel it's, there's a

00:09:06.606 --> 00:09:10.456
weight to it, there's a heaviness because
it's, there are a lot of expectations,

00:09:10.456 --> 00:09:14.045
but then there's also a lot of pressure
maybe that says, "Oh, well, of course

00:09:14.045 --> 00:09:15.365
you're gonna be the next one, right?

00:09:15.365 --> 00:09:18.725
You're the daughter." So you're, you
know, so you kind of, it, it's almost

00:09:18.725 --> 00:09:22.425
a no-win situation sometimes for, for
business owners as they transition.

00:09:22.435 --> 00:09:24.206
So how, how has it been for you?

00:09:24.206 --> 00:09:25.645
It sounds like it was an honor, right?

00:09:25.646 --> 00:09:28.795
The employees a, sort
of voted you in, right?

00:09:28.795 --> 00:09:32.315
So you had their support from
the beginning, but you also had

00:09:32.315 --> 00:09:33.715
the support from your parents.

00:09:33.725 --> 00:09:36.848
But was it a seamless transition for you,
or did you have any bumps in the road?

00:09:36.848 --> 00:09:36.944
I,

00:09:36.944 --> 00:09:39.565
Lisa Cooper: I think it was a
seamless transition because I was

00:09:39.565 --> 00:09:44.425
never, you know, I took maybe nine
months off when I had my third child.

00:09:44.445 --> 00:09:44.455
Oh.

00:09:44.595 --> 00:09:47.465
And I was antsy to get back to work.

00:09:47.475 --> 00:09:47.495
Yeah.

00:09:47.505 --> 00:09:48.125
I missed it.

00:09:48.295 --> 00:09:48.475
Dana Alligood: Yeah.

00:09:48.685 --> 00:09:50.845
Lisa Cooper: When you start working
at the age of 11, you don't know

00:09:50.845 --> 00:09:51.796
anything- You don't know anything

00:09:51.796 --> 00:09:52.095
different.

00:09:52.135 --> 00:09:52.545
Dana Alligood: Right.

00:09:52.685 --> 00:09:57.985
Lisa Cooper: And so jumping back into
work, um, gosh, 25 years ago was-

00:09:57.996 --> 00:09:59.515
Wow … when I took that one year off.

00:09:59.515 --> 00:09:59.840
Okay.

00:09:59.840 --> 00:10:03.885
And I haven't looked back, and it
was a s- pretty seamless transition

00:10:03.895 --> 00:10:05.835
because my team was in place.

00:10:05.915 --> 00:10:06.576
Dana Alligood: Okay, good.

00:10:06.585 --> 00:10:09.615
Lisa Cooper: And I may not have
been at the top of the chain.

00:10:09.625 --> 00:10:11.055
But- I'm still very involved in- Right

00:10:11.065 --> 00:10:12.435
the business decisions.

00:10:12.485 --> 00:10:12.625
That's great.

00:10:12.625 --> 00:10:14.665
So it was a natural flow.

00:10:14.665 --> 00:10:14.706
Right, right.

00:10:14.795 --> 00:10:19.286
And I feel like how I was raised
is, you know, do what you love to

00:10:19.286 --> 00:10:21.945
do, and you're not working a day in
your life- You're not … really.

00:10:21.955 --> 00:10:21.995
That's

00:10:22.135 --> 00:10:22.375
Dana Alligood: so true, right?

00:10:22.545 --> 00:10:24.796
Lisa Cooper: And so I- Yeah … I
have three wonderful children.

00:10:24.825 --> 00:10:24.965
Okay.

00:10:24.976 --> 00:10:28.605
And I have told them, "Do what
you love, and pay your own way."

00:10:28.655 --> 00:10:28.935
There you go.

00:10:28.935 --> 00:10:29.525
So those are my two-

00:10:29.855 --> 00:10:30.135
Dana Alligood: Love

00:10:30.135 --> 00:10:31.106
Lisa Cooper: that … two solid lessons.

00:10:31.116 --> 00:10:31.156
Love that.

00:10:31.156 --> 00:10:33.535
And they're all kind of in
the realm of doing that.

00:10:33.805 --> 00:10:34.215
Dana Alligood: Okay, good.

00:10:34.455 --> 00:10:36.755
And so- So they're at Mast
General Store, or are they… No.

00:10:36.765 --> 00:10:37.696
Lisa Cooper: My youngest-

00:10:37.715 --> 00:10:38.085
Dana Alligood: Okay

00:10:38.105 --> 00:10:40.135
… Lisa Cooper: my daughter
is at Mast General Store.

00:10:40.146 --> 00:10:40.176
Nice.

00:10:40.345 --> 00:10:40.505
Okay.

00:10:40.506 --> 00:10:45.415
She started, graduated, um, in
marketing from Appalachian State- Okay

00:10:45.415 --> 00:10:46.345
many years back.

00:10:46.345 --> 00:10:46.355
Yeah.

00:10:47.150 --> 00:10:50.319
And applied for a position, and my
marketing director said, "You've

00:10:50.319 --> 00:10:53.040
got two candidates." And we rolled
through the two- Mm … and I said,

00:10:53.040 --> 00:10:56.380
"I, I, I think you're probably gonna
hire my daughter 'cause she's got-

00:10:56.380 --> 00:10:57.159
There you go … the skill set."

00:10:57.160 --> 00:10:57.699
Dana Alligood: Good.

00:10:57.699 --> 00:10:57.780
And so

00:10:57.780 --> 00:10:58.230
Lisa Cooper: it's- And so

00:10:58.310 --> 00:10:58.899
Dana Alligood: she's there-

00:10:58.990 --> 00:10:59.290
Lisa Cooper: She's

00:10:59.329 --> 00:11:00.062
Dana Alligood: there … the next gen.

00:11:00.062 --> 00:11:00.510
Good for you.

00:11:01.060 --> 00:11:04.600
Well, you've talked a lot about the
employees, and, um, we've talked about

00:11:04.600 --> 00:11:05.779
ownership at the beginning, right?

00:11:05.779 --> 00:11:08.939
There are two, generally two
families before y- the Cooper

00:11:08.939 --> 00:11:10.510
family that owned the store.

00:11:10.910 --> 00:11:12.949
Um, but you've transitioned to an ESOP.

00:11:12.970 --> 00:11:14.459
So tell us a little bit about this.

00:11:14.490 --> 00:11:18.329
This is, uh, a topic that is very
important to many of our listeners and

00:11:18.329 --> 00:11:22.509
our members of the center as they have
a company that they're trying to decide,

00:11:22.510 --> 00:11:26.910
"Okay, I'm ready r- to retire, and I
don't know if my child wants to come back

00:11:26.910 --> 00:11:29.139
in, and how do I transition ownership?"

00:11:29.159 --> 00:11:33.800
And so ESOP is one that is, can be very
complicated, but sou- sounds like you've

00:11:33.800 --> 00:11:37.329
done an easy, a great job with your
employees in transitioning ownership.

00:11:37.329 --> 00:11:38.469
So maybe share a little bit about that.

00:11:38.479 --> 00:11:41.360
Lisa Cooper: Yeah, it was, um,
30 years ago that my parents came

00:11:41.360 --> 00:11:44.319
to me and said, "We wanna share
ownership with the employees.

00:11:44.319 --> 00:11:47.569
What do you think about that?"
And, um, 30 years ago, I thought,

00:11:47.579 --> 00:11:49.769
"This is a great idea." And-

00:11:50.099 --> 00:11:50.279
Dana Alligood: Wow

00:11:50.289 --> 00:11:53.120
… Lisa Cooper: we met with the, the
coats, I'll call them- Right … the,

00:11:53.120 --> 00:11:55.609
the ties and coats- Yeah … and had
a formal meeting- Those bankers, those

00:11:55.609 --> 00:11:58.160
li- lawyers … and they were, yeah,
they were telling us all about the

00:11:58.160 --> 00:12:02.129
benefits to- Okay … John and Faye
Cooper, the family, of starting the

00:12:02.129 --> 00:12:03.930
ESOP and how they can financially- Right

00:12:03.940 --> 00:12:05.269
gain from the situation.

00:12:05.470 --> 00:12:05.630
Okay.

00:12:05.659 --> 00:12:08.580
And my parents said, "That's
not what we're doing this for."

00:12:08.870 --> 00:12:09.240
Dana Alligood: Right.

00:12:09.329 --> 00:12:09.799
It's not for

00:12:09.800 --> 00:12:11.459
Lisa Cooper: them- So they, they,
th- … it's for the employees

00:12:11.459 --> 00:12:12.199
… yeah, it was for the employees.

00:12:12.209 --> 00:12:12.229
See.

00:12:12.239 --> 00:12:16.229
So they have not benefited from-
Wow … becoming an ESOP- Right … other

00:12:16.229 --> 00:12:18.619
than having employees have ownership-

00:12:18.690 --> 00:12:19.060
Dana Alligood: Okay

00:12:19.120 --> 00:12:19.880
… Lisa Cooper: of the business.

00:12:19.889 --> 00:12:25.660
So as a employee owner, 200, 250-ish
employee owners in the company, and

00:12:26.089 --> 00:12:30.089
a good handful, I think 14 have been
there since day one 30 years ago.

00:12:30.099 --> 00:12:30.119
Wow.

00:12:30.139 --> 00:12:30.609
So-

00:12:30.729 --> 00:12:31.149
Dana Alligood: Wow

00:12:31.249 --> 00:12:32.830
… Lisa Cooper: uh, we keep, uh, we-

00:12:32.830 --> 00:12:33.400
Dana Alligood: Longevity

00:12:33.559 --> 00:12:36.239
… Lisa Cooper: once you get to full-time
in our business- Yeah … we, we keep

00:12:36.239 --> 00:12:38.629
you longer than norm- normal businesses.

00:12:38.639 --> 00:12:38.659
Yeah.

00:12:38.659 --> 00:12:41.699
But I think the ESOP is
part of the understanding.

00:12:41.709 --> 00:12:46.619
And, uh, day one of ESOP, we were st-
still trying to… It's hard in the

00:12:46.659 --> 00:12:49.029
beginning- Yeah … to- Right … to
lay the foundation to explain it.

00:12:49.029 --> 00:12:52.029
Probably easier 30 years after-
Right … the fact- Right.

00:12:52.029 --> 00:12:52.979
Mm-hmm … to explain it.

00:12:52.979 --> 00:12:58.318
But, um- Once we got that underway,
every year, with the exception of one

00:12:58.318 --> 00:13:00.338
year, our stock value has increased.

00:13:00.848 --> 00:13:01.458
Dana Alligood: My goodness.

00:13:01.458 --> 00:13:03.958
Lisa Cooper: And, um, I don't
think anybody had a stock value

00:13:03.958 --> 00:13:05.198
increase during the pandemic.

00:13:05.208 --> 00:13:05.388
Dana Alligood: No.

00:13:05.697 --> 00:13:05.897
Right.

00:13:05.908 --> 00:13:06.948
Lisa Cooper: So that was our year.

00:13:07.038 --> 00:13:07.318
Dana Alligood: That was the

00:13:07.328 --> 00:13:07.648
Lisa Cooper: winner.

00:13:07.648 --> 00:13:11.068
And think we were down about 14%
the year of the- Wow … pandemic.

00:13:11.068 --> 00:13:11.128
Yeah.

00:13:11.128 --> 00:13:13.268
And the next year we were up 39%.

00:13:13.277 --> 00:13:15.757
So we, we worked hard to recover.

00:13:16.158 --> 00:13:16.278
Dana Alligood: You

00:13:16.278 --> 00:13:16.317
Lisa Cooper: did.

00:13:16.317 --> 00:13:16.357
Yeah.

00:13:16.357 --> 00:13:18.497
And I don't think we would've
been able to do that without

00:13:18.497 --> 00:13:19.627
being an employee-owned company.

00:13:19.627 --> 00:13:19.657
Sure.

00:13:19.717 --> 00:13:19.737
Yeah.

00:13:19.798 --> 00:13:22.218
The passion that- Yeah … the
employees had to get us back-

00:13:22.548 --> 00:13:22.768
Dana Alligood: Yeah

00:13:22.798 --> 00:13:24.277
… Lisa Cooper: going was tremendous.

00:13:24.288 --> 00:13:26.988
Dana Alligood: Well, you know, as you talk
about your employees and passion and it,

00:13:26.998 --> 00:13:28.727
which makes me think of culture, right?

00:13:28.728 --> 00:13:31.677
When I think of successful companies,
you've gotta have a good, you know,

00:13:31.697 --> 00:13:35.717
processes and procedures and kind of
the, the structure of the company.

00:13:35.728 --> 00:13:38.748
You've gotta have good leadership,
which they obviously have you.

00:13:38.748 --> 00:13:40.628
But then, then there's
the culture piece of it.

00:13:40.628 --> 00:13:44.277
Can you tell us a little bit about what
is your culture at Mast General Store?

00:13:44.277 --> 00:13:47.147
And when you're talking to somebody,
like when your daughter gets

00:13:47.147 --> 00:13:50.698
interviewed and she's the, the
one that, that fits the, the…

00:13:50.798 --> 00:13:54.908
gets the job, what is it you're
looking for in your, um, employees,

00:13:54.908 --> 00:13:56.087
and what's that culture about?

00:13:56.857 --> 00:13:59.088
Lisa Cooper: The culture
foundation's about respect.

00:13:59.257 --> 00:13:59.637
Dana Alligood: Respect.

00:13:59.637 --> 00:13:59.797
Lisa Cooper: Love that.

00:13:59.797 --> 00:14:03.997
It is really about respecting- Yeah
… each other and the different jobs we hold.

00:14:04.007 --> 00:14:06.918
I couldn't do it without every
employee in the organization.

00:14:07.097 --> 00:14:07.287
Dana Alligood: Right.

00:14:07.337 --> 00:14:11.027
Lisa Cooper: And so the goal of
and foundation is to take care of

00:14:11.027 --> 00:14:12.597
your employees and to do your best.

00:14:12.608 --> 00:14:20.778
So, um, I have a great HR manager that's
been with me 25-plus years, I think.

00:14:21.038 --> 00:14:21.058
Dana Alligood: Wow.

00:14:21.058 --> 00:14:21.353
Long

00:14:21.353 --> 00:14:21.828
Lisa Cooper: ti- long time.

00:14:22.038 --> 00:14:22.058
Yeah.

00:14:22.058 --> 00:14:25.308
They, they need to put the numbers on
their doors, like how… My accounting

00:14:25.318 --> 00:14:27.558
manager's been with us, like, 38 years.

00:14:27.597 --> 00:14:28.177
Um-

00:14:28.358 --> 00:14:28.368
Dana Alligood: 38.

00:14:28.377 --> 00:14:28.737
Wow

00:14:28.767 --> 00:14:31.177
… Lisa Cooper: my CFO- Wow … 19 years.

00:14:31.208 --> 00:14:34.707
So it, it is- Yeah … that
we've been able to relay that-

00:14:34.707 --> 00:14:36.708
Yeah … the culture is respect- Right

00:14:36.717 --> 00:14:39.288
and appreciation for the employees.

00:14:39.288 --> 00:14:39.298
Mm-hmm.

00:14:39.298 --> 00:14:44.577
And we started, um, several years back,
we've had different iterations of a

00:14:44.577 --> 00:14:49.527
program, but we have a training and
development team- Mm-hmm … that really

00:14:49.597 --> 00:14:51.447
takes care of- Right … that culture.

00:14:51.447 --> 00:14:54.307
Because when you get to,
I say, I said 12 doors.

00:14:54.307 --> 00:14:54.327
Yeah.

00:14:54.337 --> 00:14:54.987
We're at 11.

00:14:54.998 --> 00:14:56.527
We'll be at 12 a year from now.

00:14:56.537 --> 00:14:56.567
Okay.

00:14:56.958 --> 00:15:00.928
And so we wanna keep that original
foundation of, of one store- Yeah … and

00:15:00.928 --> 00:15:03.217
have it stamped into 12 different stores.

00:15:03.227 --> 00:15:03.427
Wow.

00:15:03.917 --> 00:15:05.988
A big thing is they're a family of stores.

00:15:05.998 --> 00:15:06.028
Right.

00:15:06.037 --> 00:15:07.568
We're not a, we're not a chain.

00:15:07.578 --> 00:15:08.007
That's right.

00:15:08.007 --> 00:15:09.448
Each store has a personality.

00:15:09.457 --> 00:15:09.477
Yeah.

00:15:09.877 --> 00:15:10.047
Right.

00:15:10.048 --> 00:15:13.097
But also, within those doors,
they all take care of each other.

00:15:13.177 --> 00:15:13.647
Dana Alligood: Okay.

00:15:14.078 --> 00:15:17.397
Which is a whole nother set of questions
I have for you about that- … 'cause,

00:15:17.397 --> 00:15:21.437
you know, it's, it's one thing to
run a company when you either live in

00:15:21.438 --> 00:15:25.127
the top two stor- uh, um- … floors
of the store, or you're down the

00:15:25.127 --> 00:15:26.187
street and you can come to it.

00:15:26.188 --> 00:15:29.208
But tell me a little bit about
that growth and what it took.

00:15:29.468 --> 00:15:30.587
One, the courage, right?

00:15:30.597 --> 00:15:34.927
To go, "Hey, I'm gonna go beyond
Valle Crucis, and not just within

00:15:34.927 --> 00:15:37.117
North Carolina, but we're gonna
cross state lines. We're gonna go

00:15:37.157 --> 00:15:40.797
in other areas," which come with all
kinds of things I'm sure you learned.

00:15:40.837 --> 00:15:42.717
But tell us a little bit
about that growth and how you

00:15:44.287 --> 00:15:44.347
Lisa Cooper: did that.

00:15:45.738 --> 00:15:47.128
Going back to my parents.

00:15:47.368 --> 00:15:47.578
Dana Alligood: See, it comes back to them.

00:15:47.638 --> 00:15:49.858
Lisa Cooper: I, I, I
always called them crazy.

00:15:49.858 --> 00:15:54.288
Like you, you sold everything, you moved
to the top of the general store and family

00:15:54.288 --> 00:15:57.988
business, and then we moved down to the
annex 'cause there was space down there.

00:15:57.988 --> 00:16:00.658
Friends of theirs started
the original Candy Barrel.

00:16:00.668 --> 00:16:00.678
Oh.

00:16:00.687 --> 00:16:02.617
So it wasn't ours to begin with.

00:16:02.627 --> 00:16:02.647
Oh, okay.

00:16:02.647 --> 00:16:02.857
Dana Alligood: Okay.

00:16:03.158 --> 00:16:06.298
Lisa Cooper: And once they got into the
annex and built a house that we moved

00:16:06.298 --> 00:16:10.778
into and lived in- Mm-hmm … nicely for
a couple years, an old department store

00:16:10.778 --> 00:16:15.257
in downtown Boone called Hunt's Department
Store- Okay … was going out of business.

00:16:15.317 --> 00:16:15.587
Dana Alligood: Oh.

00:16:15.838 --> 00:16:18.857
Lisa Cooper: And several of the local
business community said, "You need to

00:16:18.858 --> 00:16:20.597
bring a mass store to downtown Boone."

00:16:21.097 --> 00:16:21.417
Dana Alligood: Wow.

00:16:21.518 --> 00:16:25.677
Lisa Cooper: And my parents', um, few,
few choices that they made that were

00:16:26.207 --> 00:16:30.098
changed over the years, but- Mm-hmm
… um, the Boone store was one of them.

00:16:30.248 --> 00:16:33.058
Uh- Okay … when they went down
to B- they sold their house to

00:16:33.058 --> 00:16:33.937
buy- Mm-hmm … the Boone store.

00:16:33.957 --> 00:16:34.337
Dana Alligood: Okay.

00:16:34.397 --> 00:16:34.867
Lisa Cooper: So there's a-

00:16:34.977 --> 00:16:36.018
Dana Alligood: Another big risk move

00:16:36.027 --> 00:16:36.107
Lisa Cooper: there.

00:16:36.108 --> 00:16:36.807
Another big risk.

00:16:36.817 --> 00:16:36.837
Yeah.

00:16:36.837 --> 00:16:37.681
I was like, "What are you guys doing?"

00:16:37.681 --> 00:16:38.067
Another big risk, yeah.

00:16:38.067 --> 00:16:39.957
"A store just seven miles
down the road?" Yeah.

00:16:39.977 --> 00:16:43.037
"That doesn't seem like that's gonna
be a…" What was… I was a kid.

00:16:43.047 --> 00:16:43.067
Yeah.

00:16:43.077 --> 00:16:43.737
What did I know?

00:16:43.748 --> 00:16:43.768
Yeah.

00:16:44.377 --> 00:16:50.698
So, um, they went into the Boone
store and it created Old Boone

00:16:50.698 --> 00:16:52.617
Mercantile- Okay … was the name of it.

00:16:52.788 --> 00:16:53.008
Dana Alligood: Okay.

00:16:53.017 --> 00:16:54.728
Lisa Cooper: People don't, most
people don't know that, I bet.

00:16:54.728 --> 00:16:54.937
I,

00:16:55.117 --> 00:16:55.888
Dana Alligood: no, I didn't.

00:16:55.898 --> 00:16:55.918
Lisa Cooper: Yeah.

00:16:56.017 --> 00:16:57.288
Bet a lot of my team doesn't know that.

00:16:57.288 --> 00:16:57.867
Yeah.

00:16:57.867 --> 00:17:01.707
And then they realized after opening
that it really needed to be a mass store.

00:17:01.707 --> 00:17:01.873
Dana Alligood: Oh,

00:17:01.873 --> 00:17:02.038
Lisa Cooper: right.

00:17:02.038 --> 00:17:04.457
The identity with the
original store- The brand,

00:17:04.687 --> 00:17:04.857
Dana Alligood: yeah

00:17:04.897 --> 00:17:07.287
… Lisa Cooper: needed to stay the
same- Yeah … a heritage to-

00:17:07.297 --> 00:17:10.707
Okay … the family that ran it for-
Right … the many years that they did.

00:17:10.718 --> 00:17:10.748
Right.

00:17:10.748 --> 00:17:14.527
And so it changed to Mass Store
Boone- Okay … and it flourished.

00:17:14.608 --> 00:17:15.497
They bought a house.

00:17:15.557 --> 00:17:15.967
Dana Alligood: Okay.

00:17:16.968 --> 00:17:17.477
Okay, we're staying.

00:17:17.477 --> 00:17:19.907
Lisa Cooper: It all came
together, and it was a success.

00:17:19.907 --> 00:17:23.082
I- Yeah … I loved following the,
the stores and working the different-

00:17:23.082 --> 00:17:24.277
Right … stores over the years.

00:17:24.358 --> 00:17:27.397
And, you know, the growth was good.

00:17:27.407 --> 00:17:27.427
Yeah.

00:17:27.437 --> 00:17:30.377
And it became an institution
for Appalachian State students.

00:17:30.428 --> 00:17:30.528
Yeah.

00:17:30.648 --> 00:17:33.097
The memories, they're
bringing their kids back now.

00:17:33.678 --> 00:17:33.708
Dana Alligood: Right,

00:17:33.978 --> 00:17:34.058
Lisa Cooper: nostalgia.

00:17:34.058 --> 00:17:36.047
Uh, the n- yeah, the nostalgia of it all.

00:17:36.057 --> 00:17:36.087
Right.

00:17:36.337 --> 00:17:39.797
Dana Alligood: So you mentioned
11, um, and you're about to do 12.

00:17:39.797 --> 00:17:40.557
Where's the 12th one?

00:17:41.148 --> 00:17:42.878
Lisa Cooper: 12th one
will be in Chattanooga-

00:17:43.017 --> 00:17:43.388
Dana Alligood: All right,

00:17:43.398 --> 00:17:43.928
Lisa Cooper: Chattanooga … Tennessee.

00:17:44.227 --> 00:17:46.857
My parents started going
there about 28 years ago- Okay

00:17:46.867 --> 00:17:51.637
looking, going, "This would be a great
place for a store." Um, it just took

00:17:51.637 --> 00:17:55.497
a while for the buildings to present
itself- Right … that say, "These are the

00:17:55.497 --> 00:17:57.407
right buildings for Mass General Store."

00:17:57.727 --> 00:17:57.797
Dana Alligood: Wow, okay.

00:17:57.797 --> 00:17:58.072
Lisa Cooper: Pretty neat.

00:17:58.072 --> 00:18:00.107
It's the trolley- Okay … the
old trolley station.

00:18:00.127 --> 00:18:00.158
Mm-hmm,

00:18:00.158 --> 00:18:00.457
Dana Alligood: yep, yep.

00:18:00.497 --> 00:18:02.197
Lisa Cooper: So two of the
trolley stations- Right

00:18:02.198 --> 00:18:03.117
will be a mass store.

00:18:03.267 --> 00:18:03.517
Dana Alligood: That'd be great.

00:18:03.627 --> 00:18:07.107
Well, okay, so we've talked about
the growth, and we've talked about

00:18:07.247 --> 00:18:09.057
the culture of the, the company.

00:18:09.508 --> 00:18:12.707
Um, let's talk a little
bit about the pandemic.

00:18:12.717 --> 00:18:13.727
You mentioned that briefly.

00:18:13.728 --> 00:18:16.817
That was the one year that, you
know, the stock didn't appreciate.

00:18:17.097 --> 00:18:19.597
Um, the pandemic, but also Helene, right?

00:18:19.597 --> 00:18:24.637
And these are two major life-
Catastrophic … catastrophic events,

00:18:24.687 --> 00:18:28.887
and how you led through that, and
here we are on the other side.

00:18:28.898 --> 00:18:29.787
So tell us that story.

00:18:30.574 --> 00:18:34.484
Lisa Cooper: That was, I was,
um, interestingly enough,

00:18:34.484 --> 00:18:36.194
I was in Winston-Salem.

00:18:36.194 --> 00:18:39.704
I was poised to, um, go down
to Durham for a board meeting.

00:18:39.713 --> 00:18:39.744
Mm-hmm.

00:18:39.753 --> 00:18:42.974
And all of a sudden, the world's
shutting down in front of us.

00:18:43.003 --> 00:18:43.024
Mm-hmm.

00:18:43.024 --> 00:18:46.323
I had a long planned
vacation to go to Savannah.

00:18:46.324 --> 00:18:49.064
I was like, "Okay, well- Uh … we're
not gonna have a board meeting."

00:18:49.064 --> 00:18:49.124
So this would've been, like, March

00:18:49.124 --> 00:18:50.803
Dana Alligood: 2020-ish, around that

00:18:51.084 --> 00:18:51.444
Lisa Cooper: time, right?

00:18:51.444 --> 00:18:51.644
Yes.

00:18:51.644 --> 00:18:51.784
Okay.

00:18:51.793 --> 00:18:55.274
Yes, it was- Mm-hmm … uh, the 16th,
I believe- Yeah … was the day- The

00:18:55.274 --> 00:18:58.654
world stopped … that it was all
like, oh, so much for our weekend away.

00:18:58.654 --> 00:18:58.884
Everybody go home.

00:18:58.884 --> 00:19:02.393
And- Right … not only we, board
meeting went to Zoom meeting.

00:19:02.404 --> 00:19:02.424
Yeah.

00:19:02.594 --> 00:19:06.004
I went home to kinda face the
deer in the headlights- Oh, wow.

00:19:06.013 --> 00:19:08.424
Yeah … to make the call to
shut the doors down- Right,

00:19:08.424 --> 00:19:09.493
right … of all the stores.

00:19:09.533 --> 00:19:14.783
We had We were turnkey ready in
Roanoke, Virginia with full staffing-

00:19:14.793 --> 00:19:16.634
Wow … to open, a grand opening- Yeah

00:19:16.684 --> 00:19:18.204
in 1st of April.

00:19:18.374 --> 00:19:18.823
Dana Alligood: My goodness.

00:19:18.833 --> 00:19:20.803
Lisa Cooper: And so we went back.

00:19:20.823 --> 00:19:24.604
We kinda- Mm … my leadership
director team, we all sort of sat

00:19:24.604 --> 00:19:27.519
in a big room in different tables-
Yeah … and said- Social distance,

00:19:27.519 --> 00:19:28.713
yeah … all right, what do we do?

00:19:28.714 --> 00:19:30.703
And we had to furlough, um-

00:19:30.813 --> 00:19:31.124
Dana Alligood: Mm

00:19:31.663 --> 00:19:36.213
… Lisa Cooper: 500 and probably 20 employees
at that particular ti- point in time.

00:19:36.743 --> 00:19:36.763
Yeah.

00:19:36.813 --> 00:19:38.443
So what do we do?

00:19:38.583 --> 00:19:42.224
Um, at that point in time, the money we
had in the bank, we owed the vendors.

00:19:42.553 --> 00:19:45.053
Mm. And now you can't run a
business on cashflow anymore.

00:19:45.053 --> 00:19:49.913
You have to- Right … run it on how many,
how much cash are you spending every day?

00:19:49.923 --> 00:19:50.013
Spending, yeah.

00:19:50.513 --> 00:19:53.853
And I talked to the professionals
out there and they said, "Um,

00:19:53.863 --> 00:19:55.614
you're actually at the donut hole."

00:19:55.973 --> 00:19:56.163
Dana Alligood: Mm.

00:19:56.173 --> 00:19:57.543
" Lisa Cooper: You really get nothing.

00:19:57.553 --> 00:20:01.224
Do you have a line of credit?" It's
like, "Yes, I do have a line of credit.

00:20:01.484 --> 00:20:05.873
Mark- Mm … go get our line of
credit." Mm. And so we snagged l-

00:20:05.923 --> 00:20:08.484
our line of credit from the banks-
Yeah … to have a cushion to see-

00:20:08.513 --> 00:20:11.743
Right, to bridge … how long are we
gonna be here- Yeah … to get through.

00:20:11.903 --> 00:20:16.223
And then back office, we just
spent a lot of time, the, you know,

00:20:16.224 --> 00:20:19.245
the nine of us in a room trying
to- Trying to figure it all out

00:20:19.245 --> 00:20:22.243
manage the different stores- Mm-hmm
… and how do we do online business.

00:20:22.254 --> 00:20:22.273
Mm-hmm.

00:20:22.273 --> 00:20:29.413
And interestingly enough, um, before
the pandemic, I'd been in my operations,

00:20:29.443 --> 00:20:33.143
uh, guy's office- Yeah … and I'm like,
"I want ship from store, every store."

00:20:33.773 --> 00:20:33.783
Dana Alligood: Oh.

00:20:33.824 --> 00:20:37.633
Lisa Cooper: And he said, "I can't. That
logistically that's a nightmare." And

00:20:37.644 --> 00:20:41.124
so- Yeah … when you don't have your
doors open, you don't have anything else

00:20:41.133 --> 00:20:43.023
to do, you figure out how you can- Right

00:20:43.023 --> 00:20:43.973
ship from all the stores.

00:20:44.004 --> 00:20:44.424
Dana Alligood: Right.

00:20:44.873 --> 00:20:45.203
Okay.

00:20:45.333 --> 00:20:48.493
Lisa Cooper: So the, all the managers
stayed on payroll- Right … and they

00:20:48.493 --> 00:20:51.983
become the packing and shipping agents-
agents … in each of the doors.

00:20:52.043 --> 00:20:52.333
Dana Alligood: Wow.

00:20:52.513 --> 00:20:54.843
Lisa Cooper: So they would manage the-
Yeah … their teams- Yeah … and

00:20:54.843 --> 00:20:56.754
kinda giving them updates and plans.

00:20:56.754 --> 00:21:01.263
And- Right … um, I think I almost
gave my husband a heart attack when I

00:21:01.593 --> 00:21:04.893
got the company truck and went and met
somebody to get the alcohol to- Oh.

00:21:05.883 --> 00:21:07.733
Have, have the wipes.

00:21:07.733 --> 00:21:09.213
And every employee-

00:21:09.303 --> 00:21:09.713
Dana Alligood: Oh

00:21:09.773 --> 00:21:12.703
… Lisa Cooper: laughs at me when I say- Yeah
… "Yeah, and other duties as necessary

00:21:12.703 --> 00:21:14.393
on every job description." Right.

00:21:14.393 --> 00:21:14.433
Right.

00:21:14.433 --> 00:21:18.884
So we did, we pulled it together and
opened them up- Mm, sure … one by one.

00:21:18.894 --> 00:21:18.914
Yeah.

00:21:19.153 --> 00:21:20.394
Very safe.

00:21:20.953 --> 00:21:23.133
My daughter wasn't working for
us at that- Okay … particular

00:21:23.133 --> 00:21:24.283
point in time, but she was- Right

00:21:24.294 --> 00:21:27.734
my cohort at the front door- Yeah … and
we were counting people that were

00:21:27.734 --> 00:21:29.823
coming in the store- That could come
in … with, with- Right … just a

00:21:30.343 --> 00:21:31.633
s- deck- Yeah … of playing cards.

00:21:31.633 --> 00:21:31.713
Yeah.

00:21:32.633 --> 00:21:32.723
Oh, that's great.

00:21:32.723 --> 00:21:33.273
So I was like, "How are…" Oh.

00:21:33.313 --> 00:21:37.063
And then we had our, you know, management
teams inside going what's comfortable

00:21:37.063 --> 00:21:38.693
and how to the Plexiglass- Right

00:21:38.693 --> 00:21:43.094
and masked up and it was- You
made it work … we made it work.

00:21:43.133 --> 00:21:49.673
And I feel like, um, the first time
major distress- Mm … in, you know-

00:21:50.360 --> 00:21:52.570
the United States was 9/11 Right.

00:21:52.580 --> 00:21:55.879
Yeah And I was in the store
during that experience Hm.

00:21:56.120 --> 00:21:58.860
Uh-huh Uh, I was working the
floor during that timeframe.

00:21:58.860 --> 00:22:01.189
That's when my daughter was
just going to daycare- Yeah.

00:22:01.189 --> 00:22:02.300
Yeah … and I was going back to work.

00:22:02.639 --> 00:22:08.229
And people came to us, and I felt
genuinely like we were comfort food

00:22:08.270 --> 00:22:08.500
Dana Alligood: Mm

00:22:08.959 --> 00:22:11.019
Lisa Cooper: Because the
general, general store.

00:22:11.020 --> 00:22:13.870
And so when- Mm. Yeah … we
opened back up after the pandemic,

00:22:13.870 --> 00:22:14.899
it's kind of the same feel.

00:22:14.899 --> 00:22:16.349
They're like, "Are you guys okay?"

00:22:16.360 --> 00:22:16.699
Dana Alligood: Yeah.

00:22:17.129 --> 00:22:20.229
Lisa Cooper: And, you know, the
traffic came in and gave us…

00:22:20.689 --> 00:22:25.266
There was d- Inventory flow issues-
Right, right … which were a challenge.

00:22:25.276 --> 00:22:25.296
Yeah.

00:22:25.306 --> 00:22:28.566
So w- the original store looked
like it was merchandised to the

00:22:28.566 --> 00:22:31.186
nines- Yeah … but it was because
we couldn't get merchandise back in.

00:22:31.196 --> 00:22:31.216
Yeah,

00:22:31.266 --> 00:22:31.666
Dana Alligood: right.

00:22:31.766 --> 00:22:33.825
Lisa Cooper: And what turned out
to be one of our worst years,

00:22:33.825 --> 00:22:36.036
the next year was probably one of
our best years- Our best years.

00:22:36.306 --> 00:22:36.736
Dana Alligood: Amazing

00:22:36.776 --> 00:22:38.655
… Lisa Cooper: because people
flocked to us for- Amazing

00:22:38.655 --> 00:22:39.725
… Dana Alligood: that comfort Good for you.

00:22:39.725 --> 00:22:40.576
Um- Good for you.

00:22:40.825 --> 00:22:43.076
Well, that may have prepared you slightly.

00:22:43.126 --> 00:22:46.866
Maybe no one's really prepared for
a flood like Helene or a storm like

00:22:46.866 --> 00:22:51.266
Helene, and what it did, especially
in your area in Valle Crucis.

00:22:51.266 --> 00:22:52.955
But tell us a little bit about that.

00:22:53.035 --> 00:22:56.056
Did you feel like, "Okay, we
have been through a traumatic

00:22:56.056 --> 00:22:58.276
experience. We know we can make it"?

00:22:58.315 --> 00:23:02.025
Did you have that, or did you have a
different set of feelings when that hit?

00:23:02.025 --> 00:23:03.165
Lisa Cooper: I, I had that feeling.

00:23:03.196 --> 00:23:08.045
I … It was crushing, absolutely
crushing for our communities.

00:23:08.225 --> 00:23:12.325
Um, and what I felt, I
felt helpless, number one.

00:23:12.336 --> 00:23:12.496
Right.

00:23:12.885 --> 00:23:15.155
You know, "Where are my parents,
and how can I get to them?" Yeah.

00:23:15.165 --> 00:23:17.916
'Cause couldn't find-
Yeah … that information.

00:23:18.005 --> 00:23:22.585
Um, and I was just sitting in my house,
thinking, "I'm, I'm helpless. I can't

00:23:22.586 --> 00:23:29.835
do anything." Mm. And so, um, what the
pandemic did for me was it really put

00:23:29.835 --> 00:23:33.135
me centered on the fact if we didn't
make it through the pandemic, the

00:23:33.135 --> 00:23:35.566
employees would've lost their stock-

00:23:35.655 --> 00:23:35.715
Dana Alligood: Mm.

00:23:35.715 --> 00:23:35.855
Oh,

00:23:35.855 --> 00:23:35.995
Lisa Cooper: right.

00:23:35.995 --> 00:23:38.746
Yeah … or it would have been sold
off in pieces- Right … to, to

00:23:38.756 --> 00:23:40.235
figure out how to manage through.

00:23:40.235 --> 00:23:40.805
Through it, mm-hmm.

00:23:40.805 --> 00:23:45.825
So as a team, we became a little more
responsible to the financial side of

00:23:45.826 --> 00:23:49.965
it- Okay … and storing up- Interesting
… basically, unfortunately, for a rainy day.

00:23:49.975 --> 00:23:53.615
So I knew financially it was
a storm that we were gonna get

00:23:53.615 --> 00:23:55.575
through, but my priority was on-

00:23:55.725 --> 00:23:55.976
Dana Alligood: Mm-hmm

00:23:55.985 --> 00:23:57.065
Lisa Cooper: where are my people?

00:23:57.125 --> 00:23:57.355
Dana Alligood: Yes.

00:23:57.805 --> 00:24:00.505
Lisa Cooper: And- People first … you
know, it's actually a employee,

00:24:00.505 --> 00:24:04.175
Mark, who's still employed with
us here in Asheville that, um,

00:24:04.506 --> 00:24:06.005
uh, was the last one to be found.

00:24:06.225 --> 00:24:07.816
I think he was off the
grid for, like, 10 days.

00:24:07.896 --> 00:24:08.021
Oh my goodness.

00:24:08.021 --> 00:24:09.555
We're like, "Okay,
where is everybody?" Oh.

00:24:09.565 --> 00:24:15.506
"How is everybody?" And as devastating
as it was, we at least knew what

00:24:15.506 --> 00:24:16.316
we were dealing with- Yeah, right

00:24:16.316 --> 00:24:17.555
versus the pandemic.

00:24:18.165 --> 00:24:18.765
So- Gotcha,

00:24:19.025 --> 00:24:19.255
Dana Alligood: yeah

00:24:19.295 --> 00:24:25.405
… Lisa Cooper: um, with several stores
being offline and losing in October-

00:24:25.466 --> 00:24:25.955
Dana Alligood: Mm-hmm

00:24:25.966 --> 00:24:29.156
… Lisa Cooper: um, it was definitely
a rough year- Mm … for

00:24:29.156 --> 00:24:30.315
us on the financial front.

00:24:30.315 --> 00:24:30.415
Yeah, yeah.

00:24:30.415 --> 00:24:32.135
But we had saved for that-

00:24:32.525 --> 00:24:32.825
Dana Alligood: Right

00:24:32.856 --> 00:24:34.366
… Lisa Cooper: hurricane, so to speak.

00:24:34.366 --> 00:24:34.436
For that storm.

00:24:34.436 --> 00:24:39.605
And- Yeah … the big thing about that
was I laid the importance on my people.

00:24:39.665 --> 00:24:40.055
Dana Alligood: Right.

00:24:40.516 --> 00:24:42.726
Lisa Cooper: And got emotional about it.

00:24:42.735 --> 00:24:42.745
Oh.

00:24:42.755 --> 00:24:47.355
But, you know, we didn't open the doors
back up to- Yeah … have business.

00:24:47.356 --> 00:24:51.255
We opened the doors back up so that our
employees had consistent employment.

00:24:51.255 --> 00:24:51.455
Nice.

00:24:51.856 --> 00:24:54.435
'Cause- Yeah … you know, original store-

00:24:54.505 --> 00:24:54.765
Dana Alligood: Right

00:24:54.766 --> 00:24:58.416
… Lisa Cooper: Panics, Asheville-
Right … Waynesville, Hendersonville.

00:24:58.925 --> 00:24:59.375
Dana Alligood: All five of

00:24:59.375 --> 00:24:59.485
Lisa Cooper: them.

00:24:59.485 --> 00:25:01.145
Almost half of our doors were- Mm

00:25:01.305 --> 00:25:03.356
affected in a pretty big way by-

00:25:03.365 --> 00:25:03.725
Dana Alligood: Yeah

00:25:03.796 --> 00:25:05.946
… Lisa Cooper: the storm
and sales and reopening.

00:25:06.954 --> 00:25:08.444
But we got people back together

00:25:08.444 --> 00:25:08.604
Dana Alligood: You got through it.

00:25:08.604 --> 00:25:08.644
Yeah.

00:25:08.644 --> 00:25:11.974
You know, the, I w- when I was doing
the research on the store, I know there

00:25:11.974 --> 00:25:14.374
was the reference to the flood of 1940.

00:25:14.374 --> 00:25:17.414
Yes So is this similar?

00:25:17.464 --> 00:25:21.804
I mean, obviously a totally different
century, but what do you know

00:25:21.804 --> 00:25:23.593
about that storm and what happened?

00:25:23.753 --> 00:25:27.143
Lisa Cooper: I think that
storm was very devastating.

00:25:27.154 --> 00:25:29.683
You wouldn't know it was coming
in 1940- Right … 'cause the

00:25:29.693 --> 00:25:31.014
forecasts wouldn't come through.

00:25:31.014 --> 00:25:31.734
Right.

00:25:31.734 --> 00:25:35.104
And so I think in the valley, there
were many lives that were lost-

00:25:35.113 --> 00:25:35.333
Dana Alligood: Mm

00:25:35.703 --> 00:25:36.714
… Lisa Cooper: in that storm.

00:25:36.853 --> 00:25:41.123
Um, as the story goes, some of them were
laid out on the top of the original store.

00:25:41.133 --> 00:25:41.263
Mm-hmm.

00:25:41.693 --> 00:25:42.173
Um-

00:25:42.184 --> 00:25:42.534
Dana Alligood: Wow.

00:25:42.703 --> 00:25:43.024
All right.

00:25:43.024 --> 00:25:44.573
Well, let's do something fun.

00:25:44.574 --> 00:25:45.534
We're gonna shift gears a little bit.

00:25:45.543 --> 00:25:47.643
We've got this whole set of
shelves back here with some

00:25:47.644 --> 00:25:49.023
mer- merchandise, some merch.

00:25:49.033 --> 00:25:51.914
So I'm gonna get you to look
at it, and tell us a little

00:25:51.914 --> 00:25:53.074
bit about what do you see?

00:25:53.074 --> 00:25:53.753
What do you think?

00:25:54.324 --> 00:25:55.924
Um, why did we bring it?

00:25:56.654 --> 00:25:57.313
Tell us a little story.

00:25:57.844 --> 00:26:04.313
Lisa Cooper: So, um, my growing up in
the business was, um, very much, uh,

00:26:04.543 --> 00:26:07.103
I fell in love with the candy counter,
so I stopped- Oh … crying at night.

00:26:07.793 --> 00:26:11.804
And, um, then I really had
an understanding of buying

00:26:11.804 --> 00:26:12.953
and selling the merchandise.

00:26:12.964 --> 00:26:12.974
Oh.

00:26:12.983 --> 00:26:14.714
So how do you pick the merchandise?

00:26:14.754 --> 00:26:19.453
And so growing up in the business, I grew
up very much on the buying side of it.

00:26:19.453 --> 00:26:19.724
Okay.

00:26:19.724 --> 00:26:23.884
And I went to my dad when I'd
been like, "I wanna be a buyer

00:26:23.884 --> 00:26:25.924
for this organization." Mm.
I went to my dad's office.

00:26:25.924 --> 00:26:29.483
I said, "Dad, I've really thought it
over, and I'd like to be a buyer."

00:26:29.563 --> 00:26:30.003
Dana Alligood: Okay.

00:26:30.523 --> 00:26:34.334
Lisa Cooper: And he said, "Well, you can
assist a buyer. You can't be a buyer. You

00:26:34.343 --> 00:26:35.533
have to learn the ropes." Fair enough.

00:26:36.144 --> 00:26:40.814
So I assisted a couple buyers,
and, um, I created what we

00:26:40.814 --> 00:26:42.733
call our graphics department.

00:26:42.743 --> 00:26:42.773
Okay.

00:26:42.783 --> 00:26:44.383
So our T-shirts, sweatshirts.

00:26:44.453 --> 00:26:44.553
Okay.

00:26:44.553 --> 00:26:47.203
Since he wouldn't let me buy a
department, I sort of created one within.

00:26:47.203 --> 00:26:47.513
You created one.

00:26:47.754 --> 00:26:50.693
We, we sold a few T-shirts, and
then we sold a lot of T-shirts.

00:26:51.254 --> 00:26:55.074
And now, of course, every store has
T-shirts regional to- Right … the

00:26:55.074 --> 00:26:56.113
town that they're in- Okay.

00:26:56.113 --> 00:26:56.983
Got it … that process.

00:26:56.993 --> 00:27:01.394
So I grew up on the buying side of it,
and it has always been intriguing to

00:27:01.394 --> 00:27:04.993
me because the core of a general store,
which we talked about a little bit- Mm-hmm

00:27:05.004 --> 00:27:09.644
was the cast iron, was the, you know,
jams and jellies- Right … the,

00:27:09.873 --> 00:27:13.563
you know, the plateware, the-
Right … the feed and seed and the

00:27:13.563 --> 00:27:15.074
overalls- Yeah … and work boots.

00:27:15.074 --> 00:27:18.453
And so you could stay true to
the core of a general store.

00:27:18.453 --> 00:27:22.443
You do have to stay true to your
customer and your customer base.

00:27:22.453 --> 00:27:22.654
Mm-hmm.

00:27:22.654 --> 00:27:26.333
And so when we started out, Rosebud
Salve, the people that would come

00:27:26.334 --> 00:27:31.300
into the store would say My dad
sold that door-to-door, you know?

00:27:31.300 --> 00:27:34.110
And and now nobody knows that
it was sold door-to-door.

00:27:34.250 --> 00:27:34.330
Right.

00:27:34.379 --> 00:27:38.779
And so I'm always intrigued, and people
ask me, like, "What's your favorite

00:27:38.780 --> 00:27:42.290
merchandise?" I'm like, "Well, the last
thing that lands in the store because

00:27:42.290 --> 00:27:44.080
I wanna see if the customers like it."

00:27:44.169 --> 00:27:44.649
Dana Alligood: Ooh, okay.

00:27:44.689 --> 00:27:46.289
Lisa Cooper: What's the response to that?

00:27:46.299 --> 00:27:46.329
Okay.

00:27:46.780 --> 00:27:51.699
And so just knowing the retro
merchandise and then adding- Oh, yeah

00:27:51.709 --> 00:27:55.169
like, you know, it was Play-Doh
was what we had as kids.

00:27:55.179 --> 00:27:55.229
Mm-hmm.

00:27:55.229 --> 00:27:59.239
And then it was this, um,
this new-fangled, um, dough-

00:27:59.549 --> 00:27:59.759
Dana Alligood: Yeah

00:27:59.760 --> 00:28:00.819
… Lisa Cooper: that's been Magic dough.

00:28:00.889 --> 00:28:01.129
What?

00:28:01.139 --> 00:28:02.229
I can't remember the name of it.

00:28:02.270 --> 00:28:03.279
Hope we brought one of those.

00:28:03.279 --> 00:28:03.379
Is it the

00:28:03.380 --> 00:28:03.800
Dana Alligood: purple one?

00:28:04.239 --> 00:28:07.260
Lisa Cooper: Um, yeah, and
then the Nee- the Nee Doh.

00:28:07.260 --> 00:28:07.390
The Nee Doh.

00:28:07.390 --> 00:28:07.433
Yeah.

00:28:07.433 --> 00:28:08.360
It was like the, you know.

00:28:08.709 --> 00:28:12.329
I was in the store, uh, not too long
ago, and a, a young family was visiting.

00:28:12.360 --> 00:28:15.559
I was chatting with them, and they,
the, the girls had scored their Nee Doh

00:28:15.559 --> 00:28:16.849
at the- Uh-huh … old general store.

00:28:16.860 --> 00:28:16.879
Yeah.

00:28:16.879 --> 00:28:19.610
And it's like, "That's
something we have never had."

00:28:19.619 --> 00:28:19.929
Dana Alligood: Right.

00:28:20.309 --> 00:28:20.650
Lisa Cooper: You know?

00:28:20.650 --> 00:28:22.589
Dana Alligood: Looks like a
giant gumdrop, doesn't it?

00:28:22.849 --> 00:28:23.139
Lisa Cooper: It does.

00:28:23.139 --> 00:28:23.619
Now that I see

00:28:23.619 --> 00:28:24.289
Dana Alligood: you hold it.

00:28:24.289 --> 00:28:27.899
Lisa Cooper: It does, and, you know,
part of, um, just the history of

00:28:27.909 --> 00:28:31.569
the store is trying to find local
goods or memories- Right … that

00:28:32.009 --> 00:28:34.029
are in, you know, people's lives.

00:28:34.039 --> 00:28:34.109
Yeah, yeah.

00:28:34.109 --> 00:28:38.980
And so trying to kind of stay true
to that element- Right … but

00:28:39.009 --> 00:28:42.789
adding the different items that are,
are new to- More current … Mast

00:28:42.789 --> 00:28:44.320
and, and current to the product.

00:28:44.569 --> 00:28:46.449
Dana Alligood: Like this
poppy, uh, hand-craft popcorn.

00:28:46.719 --> 00:28:47.349
Lisa Cooper: Poppy popcorn.

00:28:47.349 --> 00:28:47.529
Love that.

00:28:47.689 --> 00:28:49.269
One of our Asheville brand.

00:28:49.270 --> 00:28:49.429
Right.

00:28:49.429 --> 00:28:49.949
One of our top-

00:28:50.079 --> 00:28:50.169
Dana Alligood: I know

00:28:50.499 --> 00:28:51.159
… Lisa Cooper: items.

00:28:51.159 --> 00:28:54.650
And, you know, I've got the,
the puzzle that's created

00:28:54.650 --> 00:28:56.399
from a United States company.

00:28:56.429 --> 00:28:58.500
We try to source things- Oh, nice.

00:28:58.509 --> 00:28:59.239
Yeah … locally.

00:28:59.469 --> 00:29:02.569
I have different buyers and,
you know, I'll be in and out of

00:29:02.569 --> 00:29:03.819
their office like, "What's new?"

00:29:03.829 --> 00:29:07.040
Or I'll find something new and say,
"Can you secure and get this?" Right.

00:29:07.459 --> 00:29:11.649
And, um, I went into the food buyer's
office- Yeah … and I said, "Charles

00:29:11.649 --> 00:29:13.269
Chips. We need Charles Chips." Okay.

00:29:13.329 --> 00:29:15.924
And she's like Okay.

00:29:15.934 --> 00:29:19.114
So we had, we struggled to, to get them.

00:29:19.464 --> 00:29:20.744
Um, they wouldn't answer the phone.

00:29:20.754 --> 00:29:22.314
We were having a very hard time.

00:29:22.314 --> 00:29:26.684
So I, I went online and
I ordered a box of- Okay

00:29:26.684 --> 00:29:27.124
chips.

00:29:27.144 --> 00:29:27.334
Dana Alligood: Yeah.

00:29:27.724 --> 00:29:30.074
Lisa Cooper: And I get them, uh, into
the office, and I get the packing

00:29:30.074 --> 00:29:31.074
list, and it had a phone number.

00:29:31.084 --> 00:29:31.133
Ah, sweet.

00:29:31.134 --> 00:29:33.283
So we found a phone number-
Smart … finally to it.

00:29:33.283 --> 00:29:36.854
I'm walking down the office with
the Charles chips, and people were

00:29:36.854 --> 00:29:39.983
looking at me like, you could tell,
like, do you know or you don't know?

00:29:40.093 --> 00:29:40.493
Dana Alligood: Right.

00:29:40.904 --> 00:29:43.833
Lisa Cooper: And a lot of people
didn't know, but when they got

00:29:43.833 --> 00:29:47.374
into the store, the stores had
to listen to, and they, we…

00:29:47.804 --> 00:29:49.813
We're trying to get our next
order now, 'cause it's still, uh,

00:29:49.844 --> 00:29:51.934
kind of a little hard to- It's
really … to get the shipments.

00:29:51.943 --> 00:29:51.963
Yeah.

00:29:51.973 --> 00:29:55.554
But people were like, "Oh my
gosh, those used to be delivered

00:29:55.554 --> 00:29:57.053
to my door on Tuesdays."

00:29:57.063 --> 00:29:57.513
Dana Alligood: Wow.

00:29:57.743 --> 00:29:59.193
Lisa Cooper: So a whole- See?

00:29:59.203 --> 00:30:02.383
The Charles chip truck would be in
the neighborhood dropping off the

00:30:02.383 --> 00:30:04.594
Charles chips in everybody's- Wow

00:30:04.734 --> 00:30:05.144
house.

00:30:05.144 --> 00:30:08.774
And so it brings back those memories-
Mm-hmm … where it wasn't back in, you

00:30:08.774 --> 00:30:11.663
know- Right … 1900 Yeah … early 1900s.

00:30:11.663 --> 00:30:11.693
Yeah, exactly.

00:30:11.693 --> 00:30:14.054
It was something that people
knew 45, 55 years ago.

00:30:14.054 --> 00:30:16.403
50 years ago, right.

00:30:16.964 --> 00:30:20.554
And I get to, to laugh when I tell
the story a little bit, because

00:30:20.894 --> 00:30:23.713
I knew that they were delivered
to my cousin's house on Tuesday.

00:30:23.714 --> 00:30:24.753
We couldn't afford them.

00:30:24.783 --> 00:30:25.093
Dana Alligood: Oh

00:30:25.754 --> 00:30:25.963
Lisa Cooper: my gosh.

00:30:26.004 --> 00:30:28.673
And so the history of- The history,
yeah … the Charles chips.

00:30:28.673 --> 00:30:29.703
I knew when they were coming.

00:30:29.743 --> 00:30:30.134
Uh-huh.

00:30:30.173 --> 00:30:31.893
And it's a- Well, now you got
them … it's a fond memory

00:30:31.894 --> 00:30:33.194
that people have in the store.

00:30:33.194 --> 00:30:38.004
And so being in the store and- So-
… just being kind of a, an observer-

00:30:38.193 --> 00:30:38.393
Dana Alligood: Of-

00:30:38.544 --> 00:30:39.774
… Lisa Cooper: it's a joy- Of the community

00:30:39.774 --> 00:30:40.423
to see people-

00:30:40.644 --> 00:30:40.934
Dana Alligood: Yeah

00:30:41.184 --> 00:30:43.673
… Lisa Cooper: remember and
recall- Yes … what's going on.

00:30:43.673 --> 00:30:47.074
And the, the Christmas two-pack
socks are made in North Carolina.

00:30:47.333 --> 00:30:47.693
I know.

00:30:47.693 --> 00:30:47.753
I saw those.

00:30:47.753 --> 00:30:51.133
And it has become a cult tradition-
That's awesome … for people to

00:30:51.133 --> 00:30:52.573
get their socks for Christmas.

00:30:52.574 --> 00:30:52.804
Love

00:30:52.804 --> 00:30:53.023
Dana Alligood: that.

00:30:53.333 --> 00:30:57.483
Lisa Cooper: When the hurricane
hit, for us it once again kinda, we

00:30:57.483 --> 00:31:02.023
had a devastation hit right around
our year-end, which is the last,

00:31:02.074 --> 00:31:03.474
the first Sunday in April- Mm-hmm

00:31:03.474 --> 00:31:04.274
is our year end.

00:31:04.274 --> 00:31:04.459
Okay.

00:31:04.459 --> 00:31:07.484
And so once again, we couldn't
see how- Yeah, right … we

00:31:07.484 --> 00:31:08.883
give back to the community-

00:31:09.063 --> 00:31:09.323
Dana Alligood: Okay

00:31:09.453 --> 00:31:13.243
… Lisa Cooper: at year end, so we
started roundups in the stores.

00:31:13.423 --> 00:31:13.573
Right.

00:31:13.623 --> 00:31:16.553
And we started the
Mountain Strong program.

00:31:16.993 --> 00:31:17.023
Nice.

00:31:17.023 --> 00:31:17.083
Okay.

00:31:17.083 --> 00:31:20.324
So I brought one of those T-shirts 'cause
we're- Love that … two years of giving

00:31:20.324 --> 00:31:22.743
back for people that purchase that.

00:31:22.743 --> 00:31:22.983
Wonderful.

00:31:22.983 --> 00:31:26.673
And I think we're very close to
$250,000- Good for you … back

00:31:26.683 --> 00:31:29.064
for hurricane- Wow … relief.

00:31:29.064 --> 00:31:34.404
And the need continues- Yeah, right … so
we'll probably round that up this year,

00:31:34.604 --> 00:31:37.123
um, and hopefully have a little like-

00:31:37.123 --> 00:31:37.133
Dana Alligood: Yeah

00:31:37.902 --> 00:31:38.202
Lisa Cooper: Yeah.

00:31:38.722 --> 00:31:39.462
Settle back into

00:31:39.462 --> 00:31:40.962
Dana Alligood: our normal
Settle back into normal, right?

00:31:40.962 --> 00:31:41.512
Lisa Cooper: Yeah.

00:31:41.512 --> 00:31:44.512
Dana Alligood: Well, that's just
another example of your mission

00:31:44.532 --> 00:31:47.802
and your true c- sort of core
about giving back to the community.

00:31:47.802 --> 00:31:50.862
So it's amazing that you continue
that like your parents taught you.

00:31:51.032 --> 00:31:53.862
Lisa Cooper: The nonprofit world
that we touch on is so big.

00:31:53.892 --> 00:31:54.182
Dana Alligood: Yeah.

00:31:54.541 --> 00:31:56.981
Lisa Cooper: I don't feel like there's
a, a nonprofit out there that we

00:31:56.982 --> 00:32:00.101
don't- That you won't touch … try to
lift up- Yeah … and, and help out.

00:32:00.121 --> 00:32:04.341
And, um, we did a… I always
laugh when we do it, but we do a

00:32:04.341 --> 00:32:06.211
Women That Build day for Habitat.

00:32:06.562 --> 00:32:06.731
Dana Alligood: Good for

00:32:06.732 --> 00:32:06.852
Lisa Cooper: you.

00:32:06.852 --> 00:32:11.171
And I, I put on my jeans and work
boots and, and- Hard hat and get

00:32:11.172 --> 00:32:11.332
Dana Alligood: out

00:32:11.332 --> 00:32:12.982
Lisa Cooper: there and hammer with
everybody … try to hammer something.

00:32:14.282 --> 00:32:15.342
And make things happen.

00:32:15.342 --> 00:32:19.042
And it's not just giving-
Yeah … of a, a check- Right.

00:32:19.042 --> 00:32:20.611
Exactly … but giving of
yourself- Your time … and your

00:32:20.611 --> 00:32:21.690
time and compassion for others.

00:32:21.690 --> 00:32:22.015
And your heart.

00:32:22.015 --> 00:32:22.123
So.

00:32:22.123 --> 00:32:22.701
Dana Alligood: And your heart.

00:32:22.762 --> 00:32:23.062
Yeah.

00:32:23.531 --> 00:32:24.161
God, love that.

00:32:24.961 --> 00:32:25.402
All right.

00:32:25.402 --> 00:32:27.301
Well, I'm gonna shift to lightning round.

00:32:27.301 --> 00:32:30.911
I've got a couple fun questions
here, so just answer them as quick

00:32:30.911 --> 00:32:32.412
as you can think of whatever.

00:32:32.422 --> 00:32:32.452
Okay.

00:32:32.461 --> 00:32:34.231
And if you wanna pass, you can say pass.

00:32:34.271 --> 00:32:34.671
I don't know.

00:32:35.051 --> 00:32:40.602
Um, what's one item still carried in the
Mast Store today that would have been on

00:32:40.602 --> 00:32:44.372
the shelves in the first era of the store?

00:32:45.791 --> 00:32:48.111
Lisa Cooper: It would have
to be the cast iron probably.

00:32:48.111 --> 00:32:48.131
Cast iron.

00:32:48.131 --> 00:32:51.451
Okay Um, bottled cold drinks
for as long as they've existed.

00:32:51.461 --> 00:32:51.491
Okay.

00:32:51.491 --> 00:32:51.621
Is that what we

00:32:51.622 --> 00:32:52.302
Dana Alligood: have up there?

00:32:52.311 --> 00:32:52.601
Lisa Cooper: Yeah.

00:32:52.601 --> 00:32:52.971
Is that an RC Cola?

00:32:52.971 --> 00:32:54.401
We've got an RC up there.

00:32:54.631 --> 00:32:55.331
Um-

00:32:55.331 --> 00:32:55.911
Dana Alligood: I'm not
sure anyone drinks RC Cola

00:32:55.911 --> 00:32:57.811
… Lisa Cooper: and corn meal probably.

00:32:57.821 --> 00:32:57.851
Dana Alligood: Okay.

00:32:57.851 --> 00:32:58.402
Corn meal.

00:32:58.442 --> 00:32:59.042
Lisa Cooper: Grits.

00:32:59.262 --> 00:32:59.952
Dana Alligood: Grits.

00:33:00.211 --> 00:33:00.721
Okay.

00:33:00.891 --> 00:33:02.191
Lisa Cooper: Jams and
jellies were probably there.

00:33:02.192 --> 00:33:03.091
Dana Alligood: Jams and jellies.

00:33:03.141 --> 00:33:03.571
Okay.

00:33:04.411 --> 00:33:05.931
Um, okay, here's a good one.

00:33:06.031 --> 00:33:06.371
Okay.

00:33:06.631 --> 00:33:11.382
If you could sit with the first
owner of the Mast Store for 10

00:33:11.382 --> 00:33:13.641
minutes, what would you ask him?

00:33:15.416 --> 00:33:16.275
Lisa Cooper: What were you thinking?

00:33:18.586 --> 00:33:19.406
No, I think I- He

00:33:19.406 --> 00:33:20.386
Dana Alligood: might say
the same thing you're

00:33:20.386 --> 00:33:24.126
Lisa Cooper: thinking He might say-
… you know, what, what, how did this happen?

00:33:24.596 --> 00:33:28.466
I think I would ask how the sense
of community was in the store.

00:33:28.476 --> 00:33:28.636
Okay.

00:33:28.965 --> 00:33:32.015
Because we still have the Potbelly stove.

00:33:32.025 --> 00:33:35.116
Mm. We still have the checkers and
the- Mm … chairs and the community-

00:33:35.116 --> 00:33:36.846
Yeah … that comes in and sits down.

00:33:37.146 --> 00:33:37.296
Right.

00:33:37.296 --> 00:33:41.815
And, um, you know, unfortunately many
have gotten older and have passed on.

00:33:41.826 --> 00:33:41.846
Mm-hmm.

00:33:41.846 --> 00:33:41.856
Mm-hmm.

00:33:41.856 --> 00:33:43.645
But the core of the-

00:33:43.666 --> 00:33:43.995
Dana Alligood: Yeah

00:33:44.245 --> 00:33:46.455
… Lisa Cooper: what was the
core of every day in the- Back

00:33:46.455 --> 00:33:46.865
Dana Alligood: then,

00:33:46.916 --> 00:33:47.106
Lisa Cooper: yeah

00:33:47.106 --> 00:33:48.395
in the general store and-

00:33:48.395 --> 00:33:48.575
Dana Alligood: Right.

00:33:48.575 --> 00:33:52.906
Um, okay, what's the hardest thing about
running a business that's also a landmark?

00:33:53.016 --> 00:33:56.335
Lisa Cooper: I think the hardest
part is doing your very best

00:33:56.345 --> 00:33:59.335
to stay true to the original-

00:33:59.386 --> 00:33:59.616
Dana Alligood: Mm

00:33:59.665 --> 00:34:03.175
… Lisa Cooper: aspect of the business-
Mm … and finding people to join

00:34:03.176 --> 00:34:06.005
you in your journey- Right … to
help take care of the guest.

00:34:06.055 --> 00:34:06.345
Dana Alligood: Right.

00:34:06.406 --> 00:34:12.655
Lisa Cooper: That is just, I, um, I pause
a lot and I think about how grateful

00:34:12.656 --> 00:34:15.045
I am- Mm-hmm … to be able to do it-

00:34:15.195 --> 00:34:15.465
Dana Alligood: Mm-hmm

00:34:15.656 --> 00:34:18.556
… Lisa Cooper: and to find the special
locations that are near and dear

00:34:18.556 --> 00:34:22.295
to each community- Mm-hmm … we go
into, and it's like I love it when

00:34:22.295 --> 00:34:25.156
I see online my store's the best.

00:34:25.236 --> 00:34:25.306
Dana Alligood: Yeah.

00:34:25.306 --> 00:34:25.895
It's amazing.

00:34:25.895 --> 00:34:29.085
Lisa Cooper: And each store is
so unique to that community that

00:34:29.435 --> 00:34:32.425
it's an, it's an honor and a
privilege to be able to do that.

00:34:32.425 --> 00:34:32.905
Dana Alligood: Mm-hmm.

00:34:32.915 --> 00:34:33.095
Yeah.

00:34:33.095 --> 00:34:34.175
Lisa Cooper: But it is a challenge.

00:34:34.266 --> 00:34:34.766
Dana Alligood: I bet.

00:34:34.845 --> 00:34:35.205
I bet.

00:34:35.726 --> 00:34:36.935
There's a balance there, right?

00:34:36.935 --> 00:34:42.306
There's the sort of, um, ru- running the
business for profit, but then there's

00:34:42.325 --> 00:34:45.945
also a f- a feeling of your mission
that's sort of a nonprofit kind of

00:34:46.025 --> 00:34:50.015
giving back to the community, giving to
your employees, so balancing those two.

00:34:50.365 --> 00:34:50.395
Lisa Cooper: Right?

00:34:50.395 --> 00:34:54.925
Balancing in that, um, from early days
on when my parents figured out how they

00:34:54.925 --> 00:34:59.576
could give back, whether it volunteer
time or helping the food bank or trying

00:34:59.576 --> 00:35:02.675
to get a, uh, childcare center going.

00:35:02.685 --> 00:35:02.715
Right.

00:35:02.726 --> 00:35:06.385
There was a lot that they
thoughtfully were involved in.

00:35:06.406 --> 00:35:11.335
And, you know, when a employee wanted to
have a child, helping get her insurance.

00:35:11.345 --> 00:35:11.375
Right.

00:35:11.406 --> 00:35:17.635
And so, um, how can we do the best we can
for what we have- Right … going forward?

00:35:17.645 --> 00:35:17.675
Dana Alligood: Right.

00:35:17.965 --> 00:35:19.065
Which takes me back to Pro Humanitate.

00:35:19.586 --> 00:35:20.645
I mentioned that earlier.

00:35:20.645 --> 00:35:22.305
I mean, they, they live it for sure.

00:35:22.305 --> 00:35:22.405
Mm-hmm.

00:35:22.955 --> 00:35:26.155
Um, what's one thing about the
Mast Store that most people

00:35:26.156 --> 00:35:27.765
would be surprised to learn?

00:35:29.856 --> 00:35:33.136
Lisa Cooper: Honestly, I think
everybody comes into the store and

00:35:33.136 --> 00:35:37.416
they love the store for what it is,
for the visual, for the presentation,

00:35:37.416 --> 00:35:38.726
for the employee happiness.

00:35:38.735 --> 00:35:38.755
Yeah.

00:35:38.755 --> 00:35:41.316
But I just don't think they
know the heart and the soul-

00:35:41.476 --> 00:35:41.706
Dana Alligood: Yeah

00:35:41.766 --> 00:35:44.435
… Lisa Cooper: that's behind-
Right … the doors of the store.

00:35:44.445 --> 00:35:45.756
Dana Alligood: Or that
the employees own it.

00:35:46.025 --> 00:35:48.185
I bet some people- Yes … would've
been surprised by that.

00:35:48.695 --> 00:35:53.015
Um, if the store's walls could talk,
what's the one story you hope they'd

00:35:53.015 --> 00:35:56.335
tell about your family's chapter?

00:35:57.286 --> 00:35:58.856
Lisa Cooper: Gonna make me
emotional about this one.

00:35:59.376 --> 00:35:59.386
Aw.

00:35:59.386 --> 00:36:04.345
I, I think it, I think it really has to
do that it was just a passion of theirs to

00:36:04.716 --> 00:36:09.186
give back to the community- Mm-hmm … a
gem and a treasure, and the hard work

00:36:09.216 --> 00:36:13.155
that they put into it- Yeah … to
make it happen, that people might be

00:36:13.155 --> 00:36:15.346
able to assume that this is just easy.

00:36:15.346 --> 00:36:15.424
Yeah.

00:36:15.424 --> 00:36:17.856
It was just- It's easy … an
easy process, but it was a lot of

00:36:17.865 --> 00:36:21.295
hard work and- Yeah … genuine
care and love for the community.

00:36:21.306 --> 00:36:21.336
Mm-hmm.

00:36:21.345 --> 00:36:25.995
And, uh, you look at my parents and
what they've done, they've changed the

00:36:26.025 --> 00:36:30.035
outlook of Watauga County- Yeah … by
selling everything they had when

00:36:30.036 --> 00:36:30.886
they're in their 30s- They sure did

00:36:30.886 --> 00:36:34.776
and making a difference, jumping
into a community- Mm … not knowing

00:36:34.965 --> 00:36:35.945
what- Yeah … the future would hold.

00:36:36.045 --> 00:36:36.155
Yeah.

00:36:36.155 --> 00:36:37.695
So it's amazing.

00:36:37.695 --> 00:36:37.725
Well,

00:36:37.745 --> 00:36:40.945
Dana Alligood: um, this is another
question that I'd love to, to hear.

00:36:41.115 --> 00:36:45.845
Um, if you could l- go back to your
11-year-old self, that little girl,

00:36:45.895 --> 00:36:51.935
and is there anything that you would
say to her or wish she understood, or

00:36:51.935 --> 00:36:55.536
anything that you, you know, now that
you're at this point in your life,

00:36:55.626 --> 00:36:57.295
connecting the two versions of you?

00:36:57.596 --> 00:37:01.435
Lisa Cooper: I, I think it would have
to be that you've got this, and your

00:37:01.435 --> 00:37:03.856
life has changed forever for the good.

00:37:04.056 --> 00:37:05.016
Dana Alligood: Oh my gosh.

00:37:05.026 --> 00:37:05.046
So.

00:37:05.046 --> 00:37:06.335
You've done an amazing job, Lisa.

00:37:06.346 --> 00:37:06.575
Thank you.

00:37:06.575 --> 00:37:07.165
You really have.

00:37:07.206 --> 00:37:07.765
You really have.

00:37:08.056 --> 00:37:12.495
So to our listeners, if you are a private
business owner and what we talked about

00:37:12.495 --> 00:37:16.686
resonated with you, whether it's talking
about carrying the weight of, of a company

00:37:16.686 --> 00:37:21.036
and leading through uncertain times
and, um, worrying about your employees,

00:37:21.036 --> 00:37:25.765
worrying about your communities, and
not sure how to create governance or

00:37:25.795 --> 00:37:30.695
to, um, start a new strategy or go
into a new market, um, the Center for

00:37:30.695 --> 00:37:32.465
Private Business is here to help you.

00:37:32.736 --> 00:37:35.395
So if you heard anything
that, um, that resonated with

00:37:35.395 --> 00:37:36.486
you, please reach out to us.

00:37:36.505 --> 00:37:38.576
You can reach us on our, on our website.

00:37:38.576 --> 00:37:42.865
We're at www.cpb.wfu.edu.

00:37:43.216 --> 00:37:46.895
And, uh, we look forward to seeing
you on our next podcast, wherever

00:37:46.895 --> 00:37:49.475
we may be joining from across
the state of North Carolina.

00:37:49.625 --> 00:37:50.375
Thank you for joining.

00:37:52.636 --> 00:37:53.606
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00:37:53.845 --> 00:37:57.535
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00:37:57.966 --> 00:38:02.275
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00:38:02.276 --> 00:38:04.395
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