A Seattle firm now manages several of McCall’s most iconic businesses.
As of January 1, Columbia Hospitality is managing Hotel McCall, Rupert’s Restaurant, Jug Mountain Ranch, and Foresters in partnership with long-time owners David and Ruth Carey.
“We need help to manage and run our businesses better than we currently do,” David Carey told BoiseDev of the decision to hire Columbia.
Carey and his wife will remain involved in the day-to-day operations of each business, but Columbia will lead up recruiting efforts, human resources management, accounting, and other administrative duties.
“Whenever Columbia Hospitality comes on board to manage a new property, its goal is to support the team members and property as they exist today while bringing in additional tools, resources, and support to help uplift the property as much as possible,” James Oppenheimer, Columbia’s vice president of business development, told BoiseDev.
More staffing sought
Improved staffing is one of the major benefits Carey is expecting from hiring Columbia.
“They have a broader reach to attract more people, to make our team stronger and to support our existing team to grow and do more,” he said. “They work with colleges. They work with the Culinary Institute of America. They work with chefs in Portland and Seattle and all sorts of places that we don’t have the connections to.”
Besides the recruiting boost, the firm will be able to tap into better benefits packages that will make working at Carey’s businesses more appealing.
“We were struggling with providing the benefits that we wanted to, and it wasn’t going to change,” said Carey, 51. “If anything it was getting harder.”’
Carey does not have a specific goal for new hires, but said he could use more workers at each business to meet current demand.
“We know there’s a market for doing more, but everything is throttled back because of staffing,” he said.
Combined, the businesses employ about 140 people during the peak summer season, and about half of that during slower periods in the spring and fall.
Eye toward growth
Carey plans to use the relief of administrative management duties to spend more time focused on growing the businesses. That could include expanding days and hours or creating new offerings.
In recent years, staffing shortages have delayed growth plans amid efforts by the couple to keep the operation afloat from day to day.
“We want to be driving what we do forward,” he said. “We can only do that if we can see further than the hand right in front of our face.”
Idaho ties
Columbia provides management services for 123 hospitality businesses across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, British Columbia, California, Texas, Wisconsin, New York, and Hawaii. The company was founded in 1995 by John Oppenheimer, who grew up in Boise.
Carey cited Oppenheimer’s background in Idaho and McCall as part of the reason he knew the company would be the right fit.
“The family has been to McCall, not just a little bit, and not just recently, but over the years,” he said. “They understand McCall, not just the current McCall, but the past. They understand the importance and uniqueness of McCall.”
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In Idaho, Columbia operates Hotel Sparrow in Boise, Tamarack Lodge in Ketchum, and the One Lakeside Hotel in Coeur d’Alene.
‘Boots on the ground’ philosophy to remain
The Carey family has long been known for its presence in their businesses and can often be seen washing dishes, bussing tables, shoveling snow, or tending to various other chores at each business. That will not change under the partnership with Columbia.
“It would take a lot more than this to pry a snow shovel out of my hands,” Carey said. “I don’t see us ever disconnecting from what we’re doing here.”
Carey and his wife started operating Jug Mountain Ranch, Hotel McCall, and Rupert’s Restaurant full-time in 2004.
In 2020, the couple purchased Foresters, a downtown McCall bar in operation since 1947, and The Glass House, a 179-window building built along Payette Lake in 1960 as the office for the Brown Tie and Lumber Company.
Foresters has continued on as a bar, while Carey remodeled The Glass House into an event space with lodging that functions as an extension of Hotel McCall, which was built in 1904 and re-built in 1936 after a fire.
Historical influence
History and tradition are the threads that tie all of Carey’s businesses, along with his management decisions.
“We like these historical things. We like things that have tradition and legacy,” he said. “Tradition is something that you earn and you can’t just buy.”
Carey’s flare for history was instilled into him by his late father, John Carey, who in 1980 bought 500 acres at the base of Jug Handle Mountain southeast of McCall.
The Carey ranch eventually grew to nearly 2,000 acres and led to the creation of Jug Mountain Ranch, a planned community approved for 325 residential lots on 1,410 acres, including about 1,000 acres of preserved forest and open space.
The community also includes an 18-hole golf course with a clubhouse restaurant and over 15 miles of public trails, including groomed Nordic skiing trails.
The Carey family also owns the historic McCall Train Station Master’s House at 401 Railroad Ave. The building is leased to Bella Kitchen and Dahlia: A Beauty Parlor.
The McCall Train Depot Building, located next door at 411 Railroad Ave., was sold last year by the Carey family to Salmon River Brewery.
