‘Everyday people’ store is closing after 85 years in Pasco
Columbia Grain & Feed, the venerable Pasco seller of feed, grain, tractors, power equipment, bird seed, pet food and garden supplies, is closing.
Kevin Wattenburger, the third generation of his family to manage the business, confirmed that his father has sold its longtime home, 2001 W. Lewis St.
Wattenburger said he has until June 1 to close the business and vacate the building.
He considered relocating to leased space, but renting would have been prohibitively expensive.
“We’re just going to sell everything,” he said.
His grandfather, the late Earl Wattenburger, established the original Columbia Grain & Feed in 1937 at Sixth and Lewis, selling just grain and feed.
He moved Columbia Grain & Feed to the current spot in 1959 and expanded to add more products.
Earl’s sons, Raymond “Duane” Wattenburger and the late Fred Wattenburger, succeeded him. Fred died in 2020.
Kevin, who grew up in the family business, in turn took over from his father, Duane. Duane Wattenburger retained ownership of the building and the businesses.
The younger Wattenburger said the store serves homeowners, farmers, landscapers and “everyday people.”
Clearance sales will begin in mid-April. He said he only knew that commercial investors bought the building, but not their identities or their intentions for the property. The sale has not yet recorded in Franklin County records.