The Store Roseburg Didn’t Think Would Last
A teenager. A shady storefront. And four decades of proving people wrong.
In 1987, a high school kid unlocked a downtown door and bet his future on it.
Roseburg noticed.
In a town of 24,000, you do not quietly open a storefront at that age.
People talk.
They speculate.
They predict.
Six months. Maybe a year.
That was the whisper.
Almost forty years later, the lights are still on.
It Started With Tuition, Not Passion
Forget the romantic version.
This was not some childhood dream scribbled in a notebook.
It was a family sitting at a table doing math.
College was coming.
Tuition was real.
Brett White’s parents, Jerry and Nancy, needed a plan.
“It was never a dream. The initial idea of opening a shop came from my parents. As a family, we knew we needed to figure out how to pay for college.”
So they opened.
Not because it was trendy.
Because it was necessary.
That practicality built something stronger than hype ever could.
The Early Days Were Rough
The first location?
No running water.
A back door held shut with a two by four.
Inventory ordered upfront.
Non returnable.
Paid for before knowing if anyone would buy it.
If it did not sell, you owned it.
That is not a hobby. That is risk.
Then came the first real scare.
The business grew fast in year two and three. Which sounds like good news.
Until the tax bill hit.
Growth wiped out operating capital almost overnight.
“We had to pay taxes on that growth. It wiped out the operating capital for a bit.”
That was the first moment it felt fragile.
The Town Was Ready. Even If It Didn’t Know It
Here is something most people forget.
This was not the first attempt at this kind of store in Douglas County.
Others opened.
Others closed.
The difference?
Timing.
Brett opened just after the black and white comic bust, when cheaply produced titles flooded the market and then collapsed. The crash cleared the noise.
Demand bounced back.
He stepped in at the reset.
And caught the wave.
Suddenly the “novelty” started to feel permanent.
The Year It Nearly Broke
In 2008, business was booming. It was shaping up to be the best year ever.
Then the recession hit.
The last quarter collapsed. December cratered. The momentum disappeared almost overnight.
January barely stabilized things.
That was close.
Then came the pandemic.
Downtown changed.
Customers changed.
The industry shifted again.
Brett jokes that the previous thirty years were like a Rocky training montage preparing for the final fight.
But the truth is simple.
They showed up.
And they stayed open.
More Museum Than Store
Walk inside today and it does not feel like standard retail.
It feels like a curiosity shop.
That was intentional.
Before living in Roseburg, the White family visited a waterfront shop in Seattle packed with mummies, oddities, and strange treasures.
It was chaotic.
Memorable.
Fun.
They wanted that energy downtown.
A place where you stop in just to see what might be there.
Today there are over 100,000 comics inside.
Some rare.
Some not.
His favorite?
A five dollar copy of Grendel #1, signed and sketched, bought off a newsstand decades ago.
Value is not always about price.
The Story That Stays With Him
After nearly forty years, thousands of people have walked through those doors.
One still lingers.
A man battling HIV and AIDS. Living with his elderly parents. Coming in supported by his mother. Waiting for a specific issue of Thor.
It never arrived in time.
Retail is not just transactions.
It is relationships.
It is moments you cannot redo.
Never Closing. Not Once.
You might assume there were nights when he thought about shutting it down.
There were not.
No dramatic almost ending.
No secret plan to walk away.
Showing up is the job.
Keeping the hours is the job.
“If I say I am going to be there, I will be there.”
In Roseburg, that matters.
Consistency builds reputation.
Reputation builds legacy.
So How Is It Doing Today?
Ask Brett how things are going and you will not get spreadsheets.
You will get this:
“BANZAI! COWABUNGA! Party on dudes! Be excellent to each other!”
That is not burnout.
That is joy.
For years he did not think of it as a career.
Now he does.
And it is a joyful one.
Where to Find Heroes Haven
Heroes Haven
635 SE Jackson St
Roseburg, OR 97470
You will not find a flashy website.
You will find them on Facebook and Instagram.
And you will find the door open.
Why You Should Go
Small towns talk.
They speculate.
They assume.
But the businesses that last are the ones that quietly show up for decades.
If you have not stepped inside Heroes Haven, you are missing a piece of downtown history.
Bring your kids.
Bring your nostalgia.
Bring your curiosity.
In a town of 24,000 people, very few businesses survive nearly forty years.
Fewer still become part of the town’s identity.
This one did.
And it is still here.
P.S. Who is your favorite local business owner? Drop their name here. I’d love to feature them next.
Why Your Website Isn’t Showing Up on Google
Let me guess.
You Google your business name.
Nothing shows up.
Or worse.
A competitor appears above you.
So you post on Facebook again.
That feels productive.
It is not.
If Google cannot see your website, it cannot send you customers.
And most small businesses in Roseburg are invisible without realizing it.
What Google Actually Needs
Google is not magic.
It is a system.
Before Google ranks your website, it has to find it.
Then it has to understand it.
Then it has to trust it.
Most local websites fail at step one.
The Indexing Problem No One Talks About
If your site is not indexed, it does not exist to Google.
Common reasons this happens:
No sitemap submitted
Pages blocked by accident
Search Console errors nobody checks
A site built years ago and never updated
You can have a beautiful website and still be invisible.
Why This Hits Small Town Businesses Harder
In Roseburg, search volume is smaller.
That makes every mistake more expensive.
If Google only sees a few signals, it fills the gaps with competitors who did the basics correctly.
That is why businesses you know are getting calls and you are not.
The Real Cost of Doing Nothing
This is what silence costs:
Fewer phone calls
Fewer contact form fills
More dependence on Facebook
Competitors winning without being better
You feel busy.
But revenue stays flat.
What You Can Do Today
Start here:
Search your business name on Google
Search your business plus Roseburg
Check if your website appears at all
Set up Google Search Console if you do not have it
Look for errors you do not understand
If any of that feels confusing, that is the point.
When DIY Breaks Down
Checking visibility is easy.
Fixing the problems is not.
Indexing issues, sitemap errors, and SEO basics stack fast.
One wrong setting can wipe out months of effort.
This is where most owners waste time guessing.
The Smarter Move
This is exactly what my agency, âlyft digital, fixes for Roseburg businesses.
We make sure Google can see you.
Then we make sure it wants to rank you.
No fluff.
No guessing.
P.S. If your website is not showing up and you want help finding out why, reply to this email or reach out. A short conversation can save you months of frustration.
How Instagram Helps Google Trust Your Business
Many owners tell me this.
Instagram does not bring customers.
So they stop posting.
That feels logical.
It is still costing you money.
Instagram is not just for engagement.
It is a trust signal.
What Google Is Really Looking For
Google wants to rank real businesses.
Not empty websites.
Not ghost brands.
It looks for signs that you exist beyond your homepage.
Active social profiles help prove that.
How Instagram Builds Legitimacy
Here is what Instagram quietly does:
Confirms your business name
Reinforces your location
Shows consistent activity
Matches your Google Business Profile
This builds brand signals Google can cross check.
You are not posting for likes.
You are posting for credibility.
Why This Matters in Roseburg
In a small town, trust travels fast.
Google notices that too.
When your website, Google Business Profile, and Instagram all tell the same story, rankings stabilize.
When they do not, Google hesitates.
That hesitation costs leads.
The Cost of Ignoring Social Signals
Skipping Instagram means:
Weaker brand trust
Slower SEO results
More reliance on ads
Competitors filling the gap
You do not see the loss directly.
You feel it in slow months.
What You Can Do Without Overthinking It
Keep it simple:
Post once or twice a week
Use your real business name
Mention Roseburg or nearby towns
Share photos of your work or space
Stay consistent
That alone helps Google trust you more.
Where DIY Stops Working
Posting randomly is fine at first.
But alignment matters.
Your website, Instagram, and Google profile must match.
Names. Categories. Messaging. Location.
This is where small mistakes compound.
How I Help
At âlyft digital, I help Roseburg businesses connect these dots.
Social signals.
Search visibility.
Local trust.
You do not need to be everywhere.
You need to be aligned.
P.S. If Instagram feels pointless but your website is not ranking, connect with me and let’s talk. Sometimes one small fix changes everything.
Before You Go
I send this newsletter because local businesses in Douglas County deserve marketing that actually works, not just guesswork.
If you want someone to take a clear look at your website, Google listing, or how leads are coming in (or not) and give you straight answers, I’m here.
No pressure.
No hard sell.
Just a practical conversation about where your business is visible and where it’s being overlooked.
If that sounds useful, “Let’s Talk.”
-Gary