Barman’s Building Begins New Chapter

After sitting vacant since 2017, the Barman’s building is about to reopen as Barman’s Gift and Home. Barman’s was originally established in 1887 by David Barman as a department store 115 years ago.

Scott Aslakson and Andrew Ross, owners of the Alpine Theater and Auto Vue Drive-In, purchased the building in 2021. “We plan on opening in early to mid-September,” said Aslakson. “We will be selling gifts and home merchandise. There will be seasonal items, women’s accessories such as bags, scarves, and bath and body. Home décor will include linens, candles, and dishes. We will also have a kids’ section. And gourmet foods plus homemade fudge like in the previous department store. In our displays, we’ll have truffles and chocolate bars. I made sure that the merchandise we’re carrying is not stuff that can be carried in other stores in town. That wouldn’t be fair to other businesses.”

He added, “We plan on keeping the big piano, and we’ll have someone come in on Fridays and weekends to play live music.”

“We have good things planned for the fall and the holidays,” said Ross. “The Christmas parade used to be the Barman’s Parade. We don’t have a lot of details on that. It was decades ago. But we’re going to start that tradition up again.” 

Ross continued, “The Barman’s Holiday Parade will take place in partnership with Colville Together. The parade will end with Santa Claus coming on a firetruck from the North Pole. He will walk to the Colville Christmas Tree, light it, and then Santa will come inside Barman’s and pose for Christmas pictures with our old, antique sleigh.”

“We’re also hoping for an announcer and small stage for the parade,” said Aslakson. “We will have a huge Christmas selection, including a gift wrapping counter. Our display window will have the Christmas sleigh, the nutcrackers, trees, and 72-inch wreaths.”

“The City of Colville is on board with the Christmas event, but it hasn’t been approved as yet,” said Ross. “We’re still working on the finer details for crowd control and the contest.”

Ross, a Colville native, serves on the airport board and the parking commission for the City of Colville. He met Aslakson in Redmond, and they have been together for more than nine years. Aslakson, who hails from Puyallup, works as a retail merchandiser and as a real estate broker, while Ross maintains his Seattle-based tech company. Together, they run the movie theater, the drive-in, and now, Barman’s.

“We don’t have a lot of free time,” said Aslakson. “I would like to enjoy some stuff. Once the business is established, then we’ll have some free time.”

But, when taking into account their five-year plan, free time appears to be a long term goal.

“In the next month or so, we’ll finish up with renovations and architectural updates and open Barman’s,” said Aslakson. “In the next five years, we’ll be doing some major renovations so that we can transform Barman’s into a higher end boutique hotel. The goal is to bring more people into Colville. We’ll add a restaurant and we may make Barman’s Gift and Home into more like a hotel gift shop.”

“We’ll add a rooftop restaurant and lounge area,” added Ross.

More immediate plans include leasing out space inside of Barman’s to one of the local businesses. “On September 15, Milk House will be moving into the leased space,” said Ross. “The space will be completely separate from Barman’s.”

Barman’s Gift and Home will be open Monday through Saturday from 1-6 p.m.  and Sunday from 10  a.m. to 4 p.m. The store is located at 230 S. Main Street in Colville.