Two generations of the Bass family operate Colony 13. From left Jeff, Susan and Rodney Bass. The store will be celebrating its 40th anniversary on June 10 and 11.When a business has managed to stick around for 4o years, it usually means it’s weathered quite a few changes during that time. Colony 13, owned by Rodney and Susan Bass, has been operating in Northgate Mall almost as long as the mall has existed, so the owners know all about the highs and lows of business ownership.
“I remember when we were getting close to 25 years, I kept telling Rodney, ‘We need to get to 25!'” Susan Bass said. “Now we’re at 40, and we’ve still got some of the same folks coming back to us since the beginning.”
The Basses both expressed their appreciation for their customers and said they want to give back in celebration of the store’s 40th anniversary. That’s why, on June 10 and 11, Colony 13 will offer food to its customers and a wheel of prizes to spin that could earn big discounts during the weekend.
Although the store has gone through a few name changes in its 40 years, the two said they kept returning to Colony 13. The store opened in 1976, which was America’s bicentennial, and Rodney Bass said that year had a lasting effect on the store.
“We primarily carried a lot of primitive, early American furniture back then, and the bicentennial was so big that year,” he said. “We flew a Betsy Ross flag outside the store, and the name just sort of stuck. I actually designed our logo myself.”
Now, two generations of the Bass family are helping with the store. Rodney and Susan said while all of their five children have worked there at one time or another, their youngest son Jeff works with them full time.
That family tradition, they added, has helped define what they wanted from their store since the beginning.
“We just feel very blessed by our success,” said Rodney Bass. “We’ve all seen the statistics on small businesses; so many don’t make it. Our goal has always been to treat people like we’d want to be treated.”
He and Susan said they have seen a boom in business since moving to their new location in the mall in 2014, which helped bring in many more customers. They both said they’re very grateful to CBL Properties, the owners of Northgate Mall, for their assistance in the move.
Colony 13’s growth, especially in its 40th year of operation, gives the the Basses hope for the future.
“I think our outlook is good as long as people keep supporting mom-and-pop businesses,” Rodney Bass said. “People like to come in and have a personal interaction, and we don’t plan on changing anything. I think we’ll keep going strong.”