Business grows with community

The City of Sultan’s assistant planner Cyd Donk says the expansion of Mountainside Storage exemplifies the many ways the city is growing.

Owner Kay Meyers, facility managers Lexie and Anthony Manzanares and their Coast Real Estate Services partners celebrated the groundbreaking for the additional 40 new units to their 225 stalls on Thursday, March 29. Donk said the project shows how the area has recovered from the Great Recession, which paused progress for nearly a decade, she said.

“Things are starting to move now, and it’s a good sign for Sultan,” Donk said.

Mountainside is just a part of the whole picture. Hundreds of new homes are slated for construction around the city, she said. An O’Reilly Auto Parts is opening up downtown, and Timber Monster Brewing Company has grown enough to expand its home-based operations into a storefront off U.S. Highway 2 this month.

Mayor John Seehuus thanked Meyers and her staff for believing and investing in Sultan. He said he takes personally the faith they have placed in the community.

“We are on the cusp of quite a bit of growth and change in Sultan,” Seehuus said.

Sultan City Councilmember Stephanie King attended the groundbreaking. She said it was one of her first chances to get out and meet and support some of her new constituents. She was appointed to fill Seehuus’s old seat in February. Seehuus became mayor after Carolyn Eslick stepped down to serve the 39th District in the state House of Representatives last fall.

“It’s nice to see the community come together for this event,” King said.

Meyers said adding on storage units has been a vision of hers since 2007. She considers it a milestone for the business. Once the economy dipped around 2008, the plans were put on hold.

In the following decade, Meyers waited to see more stability and predictability before investing more into the property. She was also waiting for a six-month period where their existing units were almost completely occupied.

Despite the uncertainty, Mountainside has seen its share of successes. They received the city’s Business Spotlight award in 2017, Eslick making that decision while mayor.

“It was just a really happy moment,” Lexie Manzanares said.

Mountainside was voted first place for on Seattle A-List’s best self-storage business in 2016, and second place the year before. Manzanares took second place for the Coast Real Estate Services Manager of the Year award two years ago.

Coast’s Elke and Michael Moynihan have helped Meyers manage Mountainside since she first opened in 2005, after buying the property, which had been foreclosed on. Elke Moynihan and Manzanares are both certified Washington State Self Storage Association Self-Storage managers.

Throughout the ups and downs that come with owning a business, Mountainside has maintained a faithful clientele, said Manzanares, who spoke admiringly of her customers. The majority start storing their personal items and end up staying for the long haul. Most of the odd requests she gets — can people rent out a unit for themselves or their animals — are usually pranks, and in good fun. Some people even come in and sit down for a cup of coffee and conversation, she said.

“It’s all about the relationships, you know? There’s so much to that,” Meyers said. “It’s the relationships and memories you create along the way. It’s really invaluable.”

Manzanares said there is no doubt Sultan is growing, and storage is and will continue to be in high demand. They often have had to turn people away, or put them on a waitlist over the years.

Meyers added the business has been so successful in large part because of her staff, which she calls her “A-Team.” Everyone is treated like family, a few of whom keep it very close to home; Manzanares and her husband live on site with their two boys.

Meyers said it has been important for her to give back to the community. She said she doesn’t just want her business to be a place that people pass along the highway. She’s sponsored holiday meals, like Easter hams, and partners with businesses, such as Galaxy Chocolates, during other holidays to support her fellow business owners.

Construction is expected to take until early summer, Meyers said. Once finished, everyone will be invited back for an open house to see the upgrades.