March 14, 2017

Meet Jay Wallace of Adventure Outdoors in Smyrna

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jay Wallace.

Jay, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
The business was established in 1976. I was living and going to school in Birmingham Alabama at the time. My brother David Wallace called me from Smyrna Georgia where he was living and said “if you want to start a business now is the time”. He was going through a divorce and was ready for a new challenge. I had told him from my early years as a child that I wanted to have my own business. I drove over in the spring of 1976 and we had our first sit down planning session of what type of business we would go into. After several ideas, we agreed on a used salvage store called The Scavenger’s Nest: Dealers in Unburied Treasure. We were influenced by the popularity of yard sales and a store up the road called Peachtree Salvage. Peachtree Salvage had a contract with UPS selling their lost and damaged merchandise. The store was full of everything you could imagine and people loved coming in to see what type of bargains they could find. We had a name and a market plan but didn’t have products or funding. I sold my boat for $3,000.00, David sold his Corvette and we pooled our money. David’s girlfriend Carole, worked at a large law firm downtown. Part of her duties were to go over all the legal publications for the firm. She knew when and where all the public auctions were held. My brother and I did storage wars way before the TV show. We bought a Blue Bird school bus for $750.00, removed the seats and that was our work truck. It was a Sanford and Son experience except it was 2 arguing brothers.

I moved to Georgia and landed a job at the A&P in Belmont Hills Shopping Center, the same location as Peachtree Salvage, and we would open The Scavengers Nest. Like any business, there were good days and bad in the beginning. I will never forget the worst day was when we made 39 cents for the entire day. I sold one bottle of glue. We never had a day that we didn’t sell something, at least I can hang my hat on that. I opened the store at 12 noon and David would take over at 5 each day. I worked the midnight shift at A&P. I would get off at 8am, go sleep for a few hours and open at 12. David worked for a respiratory company during the day and would take over after he got off work. We did this for a year until I could quit my job. We both lived off his salary and I devoted all my attention to growing the business. Within another year or so the business had grown to the point of needing the both of us full-time. I married my high school sweetheart Cecilia and David married Carole and we each lived off our wife’s salary and reinvested all profits back into the business.

A Pawn business in the same shopping center didn’t like us being there. They felt we were unfair competition because we didn’t have to follow all the same requirements under the law, but we sold used merchandise like they did. The city agreed with them and changed the laws we had to abide by. We had to keep records of everything we bought and had detectives checking on us weekly. Come to find out, our local Pawn Store had connections and was using it against us. We hired an attorney and called on City Hall ourselves. We found out if you’re not doing anything wrong and willing to fight, things can change. The city began to treat us with respect and things got better. David and I decided since we were doing all the paperwork we should open our own pawn business. Thus, the opening of Smyrna Pawn Brokers in Jonquil Plaza down the road.

We swapped staying at each store. Looking back, that was probably not the safest strategy but when you are young, passionate and persistent you make it happen without consideration of danger. The pawn business opened other doors of opportunity like firearms, musical instruments, tools and jewelry. We kept both stores that way for over a year and made the decision to purchase our own building. We bought a house on Cherokee Rd., around the corner from Belmont Hills, changed the zoning to commercial and moved Smyrna Pawn Brokers to a new location. A year later, we added on and moved The Scavenger’s Nest in with Smyrna Pawn Brokers. We bought a real truck by then and began moving stock from Belmont. I remember David and a couple of friends riding in the back, it was a cube truck with a pull-down door. They were riding in the back with the door down and the light on. When I passed through the parking lot I couldn’t resist. I turned the light off and hit the speed breaker doing about 30mph. When I stopped the truck, it was like a bee’s nest coming out the back. “Must be a short in the light”, I told them. They said it flipped them 3 feet in the air in the dark. I can’t help but laugh even now.

The new location proved to be a good decision for business. We added on two more times and the firearm business took off. Smyrna Pawn Brokers had eaten up our original idea of The Scavenger’s Nest. David and I enjoyed the firearms because we had been raised around them all our lives. The name Smyrna Pawn Brokers didn’t say enough about what we were doing. We needed a new name. While riding back from Birmingham visiting my in-laws, there it was, “Welcome to Georgia the State of Adventure”. Adventure Outdoors, that’s it! It starts with an “A” so we will be first in the Yellow Pages! Adventure Outdoors became the advertised name from then on. Adventure Outdoors grew to be a state recognized business with Smyrna Pawn Brokers right beside it.

One day in 1986, a Factory Representative came in and asked if we would like to be a Police Distributor. I said, “I don’t know what you have to do?” He said first you get to buy direct from the factory at better pricing than you do now. You will be the place that police buy from. So, Smyrna Police Distributors (SPD) was born. I didn’t know at the time what all was going to be expected of me being a Police Distributor, but I soon found out. After I wrote several orders and stock was coming in at these great prices, another factory person called. They wanted to know who I was calling on selling their products. I asked who you want me to call on. Police Departments he said. I knew then this type business took more than just getting factory direct pricing. I told him I would get right on it. My first call was the Atlanta Police Department. It was big and close, why not? If you will, remember back in the mid to late 80’s, Atlanta carried a bullet called the Reggie Bullet (named after Reginald Eves). It was a flat nose semi-wad cutter. It would over-penetrate without expanding when used. I explained the issue to the Deputy Chief and in a couple of weeks I had put the City of Atlanta in hollow points. We bought the house next door and Smyrna Police Distributors moved in. I opened SPD and David ran the other two stores.

All three businesses continued to do well over the next couple of years and like many family businesses the hours take their toll. It wasn’t fun to David any longer so he asked that I buy him out. The negotiations went on for a few months but a deal was struck. I bought his half of the company with a 15 year pay off. He and his family moved from Smyrna to the North Georgia Mountains. I was now on my own along with my wife Cecilia and family. I consolidated SPD, moving it in with the other two businesses. It was challenging to say the least. Cecilia quit her career as a Registered Nurse and took over the books for all three stores. We learned to maintain and be satisfied for the moment.

After a few of years, things started to settle back down and I could feel the burn to grow the business again. I made two major decisions that changed the course of our family businesses. We joined a buying group out west and bought a larger building down the road. The buying group gave us greater access to more manufacturers and products than ever before. The new building gave us more room to properly display all the new products we were selling. Adventure Outdoors moved into the new location while SPD and Smyrna Pawn took over the extra space on Cherokee Rd., now called Windy Hill Rd. All three businesses prospered from the move. However. I had spread myself too thin and I couldn’t keep an eye on everything. I found some of my trusted management for years were not to be trusted. Eric, my eldest son, stepped up as a young teenager and helped with Adventure Outdoors. It proved to be perfect timing. We stayed put for the next ten years with Adventure Outdoors being in the hole on S. Cobb Drive and the other two back on Windy Hill.

In 2009 the need to expand was once again apparent. We had looked all over the county and even outside the county for a larger building for Adventure Outdoors. A large grocery store down the road had been vacant for a year or so. I looked up the owner and went to his office to see if he would be willing to sell. To my amazement and maybe his as well, we struck a deal. Adventure Outdoors moved again to the current location at 2500 South Cobb Drive where it enjoys 80,000 sq. ft. of space. I was able to get funding from a special Federal Loan program targeted at blighted areas. Eric is the Manager of the new location. Nicholas, my youngest son, is the Manager of Smyrna Police Distributors which moved into the old Adventure Outdoors location. Jason, my middle son, runs Smyrna Pawn Brokers back at the original building on Windy Hill. He also opened Paulding Pawn last year on Dallas Hwy. I’m 60 now and my wife Cecilia remains in charge of bill paying.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I cannot say our road to success has been easy. There have been many obstacles along the way. The hardest part with any business is finding employees that understand your motivation and drive, employees that can share your dream for success. A family business can be pretty difficult as well. We don’t always agree over which direction to take. Being sued by the City of New York and Michael Bloomberg was one of my greatest struggles that I overcame. (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/09/nyregion/09guns.html)

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Adventure Outdoors – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Adventure Outdoors is a sporting goods store like no other. We pride ourselves on having the best selection and pricing in the Southeast. Our slogan says it all, “The Greatest Store on Earth”. We specialize in firearms, ammunition, fishing, archery, boots, hunting gear, Law Enforcement equipment and uniforms, and all types of shooting sports. We are equipped with a 17-lane indoor shooting range, an in-house restaurant called Remington Smokehouse, and an event space called Remington Hall with a stage and seating for 500 people.

My job is to oversee and make sure our customers are happy and taken care of by our professional staff, to make sure our shelves are fully stocked with a lot of great products at great prices. To make sure our store is a clean, safe environment for all ages to enjoy.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
With the election of Donald Trump, our business is expected to be less over the next few months. The reason for this is people are no longer afraid of losing their freedom and right to own a firearm. The current administration is much friendlier to the 2nd Amendment. We see a more stable market for our industry.

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