Olympic Boat Centers to close

Olympic Boat Centers in Spokane Valley will close Friday, the victim of a bad economy and bad weather.

“It was kind of the perfect storm for us this year with the economy and fuel prices and bad weather and flooding lakes,” General Manager Doug Stephens said.

The Spokane Valley store, at 12802 E. Indiana Ave., near the Spokane Valley Mall, is part of an 18-store chain that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in mid-July in Riverside, Calif.

Olympic Boat Centers continued to operate after the filing, but “ran out of money,” Stephens said. Stores in Fife, Wash., and Everett will remain open until Sept. 30, but all the others in Washington, California and British Columbia will close Friday.

Stephens said prospects are uncertain for reopening any of the stores. The Brunswick boat-manufacturing company offered to buy Olympic Boat’s parent, Olympic Sales Inc., but the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Riverside rejected the bid as inadequate.

Olympic Boat Centers has been the largest dealer in the country for the Bayliner, Maxum, Meridian Yachts, Lowe Aluminum Boats and Trophy Fishing Boats brands, according to Stephens.

He said 13 Spokane employees were laid off a week ago, and the remaining five will be dismissed Friday. The crew is selling a few parts and cleaning up this week but isn’t selling boats because they no longer can be licensed.

“We have some great people,” Stephens said. “Thankfully, it looks like most of them have been placed with other good organizations around town.”

What will Stephens do? “Good question,” he said. “I don’t know right now.”