Family-owned for four generations, the Kaufer Company changes hands

The Kaufer Company, a Spokane institution since 1945, changed hands last year and for the first time in four generations, the business is no longer owned by a family member.

Purchased by Catholic Supply, the store’s new name, Kaufer’s Religious Supplies – a Division of Catholic Supply, honors the family legacy.

However, if you stop by the store at 907 W. Boone Ave. before Aug. 15, you’ll still see a familiar face. Former owner Ed Sinclair agreed to stay on part time through the first year to make the transition seamless.

Sinclair, 70, is ready to retire.

“I started working in the Seattle store when I was 13,” he recalled. “There isn’t a fifth generation to take over.”

The company dates back to 1904 when his great-grandfather Philip Kaufer moved west from Minnesota.

Philip Kaufer opened a stationery and paper products store in Tacoma, but a visit from a Catholic priest changed the scope of his business.

“A priest stopped in hoping to find candles and church furnishings,” Sinclair said.

That’s when Kaufer learned there was no store west of the Mississippi serving the Catholic population.

“Great-grandpa quickly realized he could have a promising niche market and turned the Kaufer Company into a bookstore with church supplies and religious articles,” said Sinclair. “He moved the store to Seattle in 1905.”

In 1945, Sinclair’s grandfather was at the helm and wanted to expand. He sent Sinclair’s great-uncle John to Spokane to find a location and a manager. The Kaufer Company set up shop on Sprague Avenue under the management of Mildred Beaudry.

The store changed locations several times and when Sinclair arrived in the city their second Sprague building was set for demolition.

“In 1981, my father asked me to come to Spokane and find a new location and a new manager,” he recalled. “Mildred was still there. She was in her 80s!”

Sinclair moved to the city with his wife and two daughters (a third was born here) and learned the ropes of the Spokane store from Beaudry.

“We loved it so much we talked it over with my dad and decided to stay here. I became the manager, and we moved to the Boone location in 1983.”

Much has changed over the years. He watched as one by one Christian bookstores in the area closed. Though the niche market of Catholic supplies that his grandfather envisioned is still a linchpin, the story carries goods for Protestant churches, also.

“Being the last one standing in our line of business is something I’m proud of,” said Sinclair. “I don’t take it for granted, but I won’t say it’s been easy.”

He noted Amazon made a huge dent in their book sales.

“But the 2008 financial crisis was a bigger hit,” he said.

That coupled with the widespread abuse scandals within the Catholic church made staying in business tough.

“The disillusionment with the church impacted giving and church supplies,” Sinclair recalled. “I put it to the grace of God that we survived.”

They faced another challenge with the prolonged closures of the Monroe Street Bridge.

“We’re a destination business, and that hurt our retail income.”

After weathering all of that, COVID hit.

“I’m so grateful to our customers, particularly during COVID,” said Sinclair. “Virtually every day people would come in and say, ‘How are you? I hope the store will stay open!’ ”

Sinclair is dipping his toes into retirement. He and his wife recently returned from a trip to Ireland and Scotland.

Other retirement plans include reading more, writing music, and spending lots of time with his baby granddaughter.

Another longtime Kaufer’s fixture also recently retired.

“I’ve worked with book buyer and co-manager Gary Edwards since 1983,” Sinclair said. “It’s been such a pleasure to work with him all these years.”

That’s what he’ll miss the most – the people.

Sinclair said he’s seen the pendulum swing from internet sales to customers wanting to support homegrown small businesses.

“What’s been grand is in what other business could you run across so many amazing people,” he said. “The stories they’ve told, the lives I’ve entered into, it became more than a business, it became a vocation.”