Two sell electronics, guns at Pawn Depot in Brainerd

Joel Towe, Dustin Earls and Dorian Raymond talk about holsters for a pistol at Pawn Depot. Towe and Earls worked behind the counter at the Pawn Depot on Brainerd Road. Staff Photo by Jake Daniels/Chattanooga Times Free Press

• Name: Pawn Depot

• Location: 3646 Brainerd Road

• Products/services: The store sells “anything you can imagine,” with an ever-changing selection, said co-owner Duane Goff. The pawnshop specializes in electronics, music equipment, guns and ammunition. It uses a national database to check prices on items to be pawned, and can perform telephone evaluations.

• Age: Three months

• Startup investment: $250,000

• Anticipated annual sales: $250,000

• Target market: Ideal customers need a short-term cash loan that is guaranteed by some sort of tangible item that will have value to other customers.

• Biggest hurdle: “Regulations are pretty tough,” said fellow owner Samuel Keys. The cost of capital is also high, as is the competition against nearby pawnshops owned by chains, he said.

• Biggest reward: “Obviously, we like to see people be able to pay their utility bill,” Goff said.

• Challenges in the future: The owners fear that gun regulations could be tightening, increasing the already hefty stack of paperwork they constantly face.

• Lesson learned: “We wish we had checked the sign regulations in Hamilton County,” joked Goff, gesturing to his “now open” sign that he was forced to move away from the street.

• Five-year goal: Goff would like to see the store grow into a place of business that customers think of as their local solution, as opposed to chain stores. The shop has the ability to double its space if business picks up.

• Contact: 933-3693

— Compiled by staff writer Ellis Smith, esmith@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6315