TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — It’s been nearly a year since Seared Living opened their doors for the first time in the Catalina Foothills, hoping to bring a culinary shopping experience to the community.
KGUN9 sits down with the business owners about how business has been since we last saw them.
Tawnya and Casey Erickson opened Seared Living in the Catalina Foothills near Campbell and Skyline in hopes to bring a new taste to cooking from home.
“Everybody seems to come to this area shopping, whether it's people from the far east or from Oro Valley, Catalina, Saddlebrook," said the Erickson's.
Unique olive oil flavors, vinegar, spices, wine, meats and cheeses.... the inventory list has grown since the last time KGUN9 was inside the store. But, their mission has stayed the same.
“Bringing people in and telling them how easy it is to find a recipe and pull things together is still our base," said Tawnya Erickson.
They say the first year of owning a business can be the hardest, and that was certainly true for the Erickson's.
“One major challenge this summer was the heat, and then we didn't have monsoons forever. We finally had the first monsoon that came in, we lost power for three days. It wiped out all our inventory. We didn't have any AC and was 100 degrees in here," said Casey Erickson.
The Erickson's tell KGUN9 the hardest part was navigating how to recover after the monsoon microburst in July, causing businesses and homes in the foothills to be without power for days.
“Some of our stuff didn't taste right. The quality wasn't there. The wine had all gone bad and we had some corks that had popped and so we thought wow, it really got hot in here," said Tawnya Erickson. The storm damage forced the new business to close temporarily and have to restock all inventory.
However, the doors are back open at Seared Living, hoping to make year two a much better one by adding employees and even considering opening a second location.
Seared Living is located at 2870 E Skyline Dr #170, Tucson, AZ 85718. For information call (520) 780-3473.
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Brooke Chau is a reporter for KGUN 9. She was a part of Fresno State's newscast, Fresno State Focus and interned at KFSN-ABC30 in Fresno, CA before coming to KGUN 9. Share your story ideas and important issues with Brooke by emailing brooke.chau@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
