Episode 31: Denio's Farmers Market. Remarkable Resilience Through Generations.

Growing up, I spent countless weekends with my family at local markets, surrounded by vibrant sights and sounds, which makes today's guest story resonate deeply. Tracie and Eric Denio take us on a nostalgic journey through the history of Denio's Farmer's Market and Swap Meet, a venture started by their remarkable grandparents, Jim and Marilee Denio. From auctioning quirky items like used dentures in the 1960s to the market's evolution into a modern community hub, their tales are a testament to resilience and innovative family spirit.

Through the lens of Eric and Tracie's leadership, we explore the dynamic of a family business that has thrived over generations. They share the importance of hands-on experiences, from managing hot dog carts to sweeping floors, which shaped their business acumen and commitment to maintaining a family-friendly environment. Their dedication to community engagement and environmental responsibility has kept Denio's a beloved destination in Roseville, illustrating how the foundational principles of their grandparents continue to guide them.

We explore the challenges and rewards of running a family business, highlighting the unique sibling dynamic between Tracie and Eric as well. Their stories of balancing personal aspirations with the family legacy, influenced by their French-Canadian roots and Christian values, offer a heartwarming glimpse into the fabric of their family. As they navigate the future of Denio's, their commitment to their team and community shines through, leaving us inspired by the enduring spirit of family and community that defines Denio's Farmer's Market.

To learn more about Denio's and for location and hours visit their website in this LINK

Chapter Summaries
(00:00) Evolution of Denio's Farmers Market
Denio's Farmer's Market and Swap Meet's rich history, from grandparents' contrasting strengths to modern customer-friendly environment.

(13:57) Legacy of Family-Friendly Denio's Market
Third-generation owners embody values instilled by grandparents, emphasizing community engagement and environmental responsibility at Denio's family-run business.

(18:34) Generational Legacy of Family-Owned Business
Grandparents' partnership, joyful companionship, world tour, and legacy inspire future generations to cherish relationships and embrace life's adventures.

(26:19) Family Dynamics in Business Succession
Family business, French-Canadian heritage, hands-on approach, education, and work ethic passed down through generations.

(31:25) Family Business Succession Planning
The emotional and professional journey of inheriting a family business, the transition process, and future plans for involving the next generation.

(39:44) Family Values in Business Succession
Sibling teamwork, Christian values, and leadership skills are highlighted in the challenges faced by a family business during COVID-19.

(51:33) Dedicated Team Drives Family Business
Tracie and Eric's commitment to their team and community, strong relationships with employees and vendors, and recognition in Comstock magazine.

To learn more about the Capital Region Family Business Center visit our website HERE

Transcript

Natalie Kling: [00:00:00] Join us for the Capital Region Family Business Center's Generations Conference on February 27th, 2025. This interactive one day event is crafted specifically for family owned businesses, offering three impactful keynotes, six breakout sessions, and a legislative update from the Family Business Association of California.

It's a unique opportunity for family members, non family managers and future leaders to connect and dive deep into the challenges of family business leadership, management, and succession. I have to say it is one of the most valuable events I've personally attended as a family business member. Don't miss out.

Register today at CapFamilyBiz. org. That's CapFamilyBiz, B U S, dot org. 

Steve Fleming: Hi, my name is Steve Fleming, CEO of River City Bank, which was founded almost 50 years ago. As a leader in a family business [00:01:00] myself and a longtime board member for the Capital Region Family Business Center, I understand firsthand how incredibly important family businesses are to our economy and the unique challenges they face in sustaining from generation to generation.

podcast series informative, entertaining, and even humorous at times. That's why our family business, River City Bank, is proud to support this podcast. I hope you enjoyed today's episode. 

Tracie Denio: They would drive out on their cart every weekend with their little dog and go around the market every weekend. This was their baby, the market.

And if my grandmother noticed anything that was off, you better believe my grandfather was off. on it, making sure his employees, because she was everything to him. My grandparents were such a wonderful example of what true partnership looks like. 

Eric Denio: We would have vendors that have been around for a long time.

I just miss your grandma and grandpa running around with a [00:02:00] dog. I really miss that. And it was just sweet. I mean, very, very touching, you know, moments when I would have these conversations because people remembered that

Natalie Kling: You

Hello, and welcome to a seat at the table, trials and triumphs of family business brought to you by the Capital Region Family Business Center, helping family businesses to grow and prosper. I'm Natalie Mariani Kling, your host and a fourth generation family business member. I am so excited to join you around the table for real conversations about what it's like to grow up in, become a part of, and thrive.

And navigate the complexities of a family business. Special thanks to another family business, River City Bank, for their generous support of this program. On this episode, we speak with Tracy and Eric Denayo, [00:03:00] third generation siblings of Denayo's Farmer's Market and Swapmeet in Roseville, California.

We'll hear how one couple's produce stand in 1947 turned into a family friendly market with over 500 vendors, many of them family businesses themselves. We talk about navigating the big and small disagreements that come with running a business. And we'll hear how the values of work ethic, family, and faith have guided the expansion of Denayo's into an iconic Sacramento business.

Tracy and Eric, welcome from Denayo's Farmer's Market and Swap Meet. We're so happy to have you here. Thanks for coming. Thank you for having us. 

Eric Denio: Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. You're welcome. So 

Natalie Kling: I want to start with, and maybe Tracy, I'll, I'll pass it to you. If you could give us kind of a 30, 000 foot perspective of the history of Denios and where kind of how we got to where you are today.

Sure. 

Tracie Denio: Sure. Well, it all started with our grandparents, Jim and Marilee Denio. [00:04:00] They met and married and in 47, they decided to start a business. My grandfather had a seventh grade. He came from Martinez and kind of found his way. He met grandma. Was it in, in Lovelock, 

Eric Denio: Lovelock, Nevada, 

Tracie Denio: Lovelock, Nevada. And she came from, a very educated family of attorneys and pharmacists and doctors.

She graduated, you know, at the top of her class. So she was just a brilliant, strong woman. UCLA. Yeah, UCLA. And so they married and, and they started just, you know, kind of selling goods. And I, I know the story kind of goes. They, it wasn't maybe working out so well. So my grandfather said, well, let's give it maybe one more month.

Let's just see if we, if this, we can get this going off the road, you know, off the ground. And they did. Cause originally it was what, what, what were 

Natalie Kling: they doing? What was the kind of the first thing that they did? It was a 

Eric Denio: truck driver actually, believe it or not. And so he was [00:05:00] doing that simultaneously, uh, running the market always was busy, had his hands in everything.

And of course the four kids are two aunts and, uh, uncle and dad. And so they, they 

Tracie Denio: hadn't come along yet. 

Eric Denio: Yeah, they had, well, they had got to the point where it was produce. 

Tracie Denio: They were selling produce. Yeah. And it was, 

Eric Denio: it was time to kind of make a decision one way or another. And so from what we understand, they made the right decision and, and I don't think he realized what it could have, what it flourished into.

He just put his head down and he worked and he was just a hard worker. Yeah. 

Natalie Kling: So they went from selling produce, now they owned the land, right? Was that They did. 

Tracie Denio: They bought, they kept buying up some of the land and then they has, you know, had people come up and say, Hey, can we sell our goods with you? And, you know, so he would rent out and that's kind of how it all started.

He, he was, you know. The first vendor there was, and then he, you know, just allowed other people to come in. And then it [00:06:00] just kind of grew from there. And like Eric said, it just, they didn't have like some, Hey, this is what we want to do. This is the vision. This is what we're, they just worked hard and it just, Um, and it kind of, uh, evolved and turned into what it did.

And then at that point, I think they kind of said, Okay, we've got a good thing going here and. Our aunts and our uncle and our dad. They all, you know, worked in the business from the time they were born. Grandma always had an area and he, you know, was an auctioneer, so he would auction off items, and he's auctioned off everything.

Eric Denio: Yeah, 

Tracie Denio: Eric, you probably have some. 

Eric Denio: Well, we, uh, we still. have a hard time figuring out how, you know, they came together. Opposites obviously attract, we know that, but so very uneducated, seventh grade education, grandpa's side, grandma's side, you know, very astute, you know, suits and that type of thing. You know, when you saw black and white pictures, well, we had an old office years back and I remember being very young, Tracy young, and we'd walk down This office [00:07:00] corridor and you'd have his lineage on one side and you'd look and it looked like a bunch of old horse thieves I mean honestly and then you'd look on the other side and you know astute attorneys and I mean people very white collar and So when they got together, you know, my grandfather was out there doing the auctioning and my grandmother with the young girls would be doing the books and handling the money.

And so historically, just kind of neat how everything came together. We're talking about oddball things that he's auctioned off. And a story that my dad would talk about, you know, we'd get our have our family get together as all our aunts and uncles, cousins. And if my grandfather was drinking a little bit, he would open up.

And I mean, oh my gosh, a myriad of awesome stories. So one, he was up on the auction stage and my dad, my uncle, my two aunts, you know, they're working the crowd and. And these [00:08:00] people kept going over to this box and it's like the mystery box. And finally, a little old lady opens it up and it's, it's used dentures.

And literally trying them on. People trying them on. And he auctioned off the whole box. True story. True story. 

Natalie Kling: What year was that ish? 

Eric Denio: Oh, I, I have no idea, honestly. I'd have to ask dad, but. 

Tracie Denio: What decade? 60s, probably the 60s. It was, it was in the 

Eric Denio: 60s, yeah, 47, yeah, yeah, if you did the calculations with his age, but.

Oh, that's good. But I mean, yeah, so they, somebody got a good deal on dentures. 

Natalie Kling: Tell us what Denios looks like today. 

Eric Denio: We have really moved into, and with, with Tracy, really. You know, I would say at the helm with some of these thought processes, she's done a fantastic job with thinking forward. We have a lot more onsite entertainment.

That's really been the big jump. We have a [00:09:00] large stage that we fabricated. We have live music every weekend, a lot more seating. Back in the day, my grandfather, was a little bit opposed to putting too many picnic benches and creature comforts because well people are going to sit down and they're not going to shop guys so we can't have those creature comforts just a different way of thinking and so now very large fake grass areas you know more kind of a park setting where folks can sit down and lot of fun.

Um, eat a corn dog, sip of coffee, that type of deal. So I think the big change would be really more live entertainment. We have a vendor that actually has small kid rides. So they can come in. It's a small theme park. They want to expand as time progresses, and that's You know, we're going to be there to help them with that.

And so, I don't know. 

Tracie Denio: And I think, you know, with that said, that was the, kind of the evolution of where we're at, but we still very much are, you know, there for the small business family, you know, the vendors that come in and, you know, their comfort is being at a, at a swap [00:10:00] meet and renting space, selling their goods.

Our goal is always to make sure we're offering space at a very low price so that these families can come in, you know, and sell their goods. You know, it's just we want to always remain kind of that place where people can come and maybe even just do a test product. Maybe they've invented something and they want to come out and see how it's gonna, how it's gonna do.

And we get the, you know, thousands of people come through the gates every weekend. And, you know, we just remain a place where it's very family oriented. We always say, you know, if it, If my, you know, little eight year old can't walk by it and if I'm like trying to cover her eyes, then I don't, we don't want it there.

We want to stay family, you know, venture, let, you know, people welcome. They leave all their everything, all the nonsense that we see these days at the door. Come on in, you know, everybody. Yeah, you know, get along. And, you know, it's just, uh, yeah. So, you know, but like Eric said, we did have to kind of evolve a lot of people, you know, they just want to be entertained these days as well.

It's, you can't just anymore, just be a [00:11:00] shop shopping market. You know, you see it even in the malls, people, you know, they're, they're trying to bring in other things and right outside entertainment. So we're right there with them. And, you know, yeah. How many vendors do you have today? We probably have about, what, 500, anywhere from, 

Eric Denio: say, 500, uh, permanent, and then we get our day vendors on top of that, so on those really, really beautiful weekends, we'll get the ones that drive in and take an open spot and put down their used items.

It's different now because we do have, I mean, We've had attorneys show up and they have a really nice trailer that will open up and talk to the public and kind of work clients, you know advertising Solar people, you know, not just goods to you know for the household so we get it get a little bit of everything now Or the 

Tracie Denio: satellite location for outside, you know, brick and mortars, you know, yeah.

Natalie Kling: So, one of the things when we had talked previously is that I think is so cool is [00:12:00] you're really creating opportunity for other family businesses, for other small businesses is. Thank you. to come in and have their own, their own dreams and their own opportunities to fulfill dreams for their families.

Right? So tell us, I mean, is there a story or two you can share with us over the years where you've really seen some, you know, an opportunity that you were able to provide for a family? 

Tracie Denio: Goodness, we've had many multiple vendor families that have been around as long as Eric and I have been around. So we've, you know, seen them, you know, raising their kids and coming up and, you know, a lot of them are, you know, they've gone through school and they're doctors, they're lawyers.

I know we've had some, you know, different, trying to think of the, the one family that has the architects, you know, I mean, they, They just, they come up through, they put their kids through school from working hard out at the market and, you know, it's, it's a beautiful thing to see, you know, the, [00:13:00] the process of that, you know, and the one part we're always like, well, we need people to still want to maintain that business also, like Eric and I have, we've decided to carry on the business, but those vendor families kind of struggle in that same aspect on a, you know, on a smaller scale, but they also want to pass down their business.

So I think we've seen a lot of that as well. You know, third and fourth generation, you know, vendor families out there 

Eric Denio: and a lot of them. They bring their youngsters. They'll have You know, maybe not infants, but I mean, you know, one, two, three year old age. And I mean, they're learning how to handle cash.

They're learning how to interact with the public, you know, in the realm of their booth with their parents there. And when you see them, you know, five years forward, 10 years forward, I mean, some of these individuals are so well spoken by the time they're 10, 15 years old, it's phenomenal. One. Produce vendor.

And not naming names was having some problems with their young son he was he was kind of a little troublemaker and he'd be running [00:14:00] around there and You know, they're selling their produce and and doing their thing and and so some of our employees Kind of wrapped our arms around him and said hey, you know, you need to help your family I don't want to you know do this i'm just you know bored whatever and it was kind of like You know, what can we get him set on?

Well? I have a little bit of military experience, a couple of our other employees the same. And so we started talking with him about that. Well, some years forward from that point, he ended up going into the Marine Corps and I think he's a lifer. I think he's still in, but he had the ability to get his family a place to help them out financially and, and I, and, and they still actually are selling, selling produce.

And so. I think about stories like that and, and when, you know, not just Tracy and I, but our employee base, which are amazing people, some that have been with us [00:15:00] 30, 40 years, you know, have the ability to reach out and be able to connect with some of these. young vendor families. It's very special. That one hit me because of my background, things that I went through and seeing him come back.

And yes, sir. And no, sir. And I mean, very polite, you know, in his young twenties. And who is this kid? Oh my gosh. Cause I remember way back when, and he was a little, you know, Turkey. 

Natalie Kling: Yeah. So, 

Eric Denio: uh, yeah. Very special. That's so 

Natalie Kling: neat. And a way to make an impact that you wouldn't necessarily have if it was a, if it was a typical business, I'll say, right.

Where you're just really seeing the employees, you get to see their families. That's, that's very cool. We had talked a little bit about how a farmer's market swap meet is such a unique business and a unique industry, let alone a unique family business. And before I go backwards, because I want to talk a little bit about the history of you guys growing up in it, but.

Tell us, give us a feel for what it's like, because [00:16:00] when you're there, because I know, you know, I've been, I was in LA for a long time. I'd go to swap meets and sometimes they feel good. And sometimes, you know, you're not really sure. And, and I really want people listening to really understand how your farmer's market and swap meet is, is unique and what it feels like to be there.

Tracie Denio: Yeah. Well, you know, Growing up and it kind of how, you know, we talked about it's it. We didn't really realize how different we were until we got a little older and you know You start experiencing life and going places and you know kind of the uniqueness of it in that, you know We're a little mini city, right?

So we've got all these, you know, hundreds of vendors who very independently minded you know, entrepreneurs in their own right. And, you know, you have to, everybody has to get along. It has to be the, for the good of the business and for the good of, you know, what the customers are wanting. And so, you know, there's a lot of kind of having to settle fights or settle, you know, [00:17:00] arguments among, well, I want to sell this product.

Well, you're right across from somebody that says, Doing the same thing or you know, just, just those minor things. But having to kind of see that 30,000 view, you know, foot view of, of the market and how it's interacting and what's best, like I said, for, for the vendors, for the customers, for our employees.

And so managing kind of on those levels of making sure that it's a safe place to come. It's a, you know, family place to come. you know, where everybody is welcome. You know, I think it's just something that we, we were raised in it and we saw how it needed to be. And it just kind of came natural, I think, for Eric and I, because we started at such a young age.

Eric Denio: Didn't really know anything different. Yeah. You know, I 

Tracie Denio: mean, we were out there running hot dog carts and the gates and, you know, sweeping and all the, you know, every position, you know, the one thing my grandfather and my grandmother, they were very big on, you start from the ground up. You know, nothing is given.

You earn it all. And when you [00:18:00] do it and you see it from that perspective, you really understand it from the inside out versus just coming in and, you know, starting at, you know, whatever level, I mean, how other businesses hire. We, we just, you know, and many of our employees, they've started exactly like us.

You know, we did from the bottom up and they are our right hand people, you know, and 

Eric Denio: there's quite a hands on education. I mean, I used to joke around and say, I'm part police officer, I'm part fireman, I'm part, you know, social worker, because you deal with so many, there's just a lot of parts and pieces to what we do.

And when you have multiple thousands of people in a location like that, of all ethnicities, you know, you run into certain things and. Like Tracy says, we've always pushed the family friendly and everybody's welcome, you know, not to get into major details, but you know, some, you know, we're young, like gang type people would come around and, and we had an employee that came [00:19:00] from the Bronx and was very, very educated in that area.

And he would get right in the middle of them and go, Nope, neutral. This is neutral ground. You're here. This is family friendly. And they would still kind of show their colors, but they wouldn't get in a tiff with anybody else. And it was actually, you know, quite peaceful, you know, you could deal with some uprisings here and there, but not, you know, like you would think with that many individuals on one location, you know, we're roughly about 75 acres.

And so our selling area, if you consider our parking lots, our selling areas. 30 between 30 and 35 roughly and so it's a large it's a large location. So Kind of all those parts and pieces and everybody doing their part to to make it work Really sometimes seems miraculous at times, I mean, but it works and people do continue to come back because of that because they know that it is a safe place that they can bring their youngsters and just really enjoy kind of perusing the aisles, you know, and it's [00:20:00] different than a mall because you are outdoors, you know, and you have, of course, the garage sale site of it.

So people are kind of looking for their treasures, you know, yeah. We always, we always hope that, that the weather's good because we're extremely weather dependent, obviously, 

Tracie Denio: but, and even, you know, I'll say this, even beyond our, our little, you know, borders that we've got there, we, you know, we're good. We're a good neighbor to, we're right near, So we make sure every Monday morning we go out into that, make sure it's clean, make sure any of our garbage that might've flown out is picked up with the city, you know, with the Roseville police, with Roseville fire, we're a partner with all of them.

And we want to make sure that we're doing our part for our city. Cause it's very important to us. We've been there, like, you know, we said since 1947, we want to be a good neighbor, a good citizen. And, you know, and just make sure that, People are happy, you know, and they, when they think of denials that they have good thoughts.

Eric Denio: Well, we feel blessed. I mean, being in, you know, not to get too far off the [00:21:00] beaten path, but I mean, being in the city of Roseville, we're blessed. I mean, we really are. And so, yeah, we want to be that business that they, you know, a lot of times, you know, if there's, Something that happens and we don't want to necessarily have to call our PD.

You know, we kind of, you know, work on it on our own and if we have to, we will, but they're, I think they're amazed as well. You know, that, wow, you have this large place and you know, we don't have to go out there too often. So, 

Natalie Kling: well, it seems that since your grandparents, that they really did set a foundation and an expectation for it, this really special, unique place that felt like family.

that was clean, that was dependable, and you guys have really stood for that as siblings, three generations down, to really carry that on. And it has to be the case if you have people coming back and participating in the way that you say they do. It's really cool. [00:22:00] 

Tracie Denio: They were great people. 

Natalie Kling: Yeah, yeah, sounds like it.

Out of curiosity, as they got older, did you see, you know, like you said, they started out from such different worlds. Right. Towards the end, you know, when you saw them as your grandparents, what was their relationship like? How did they kind of My 

Tracie Denio: goodness, they were like one in the same. They were adorable.

They never, I've never seen them together. Never saw them argue. I, I tell you what, if my grandmother, if they, they would drive out on their cart every weekend with their little dog and go around the market every weekend. This was their baby, the market. And if my grandmother noticed anything that was off, you better believe my grandfather.

So, uh, I was on it making sure his employees because he, she was everything to him. Yeah. And the same, so they were partners like I've never seen, honestly, and I've been married almost 33 years. And my grandparents were such a wonderful example of, What true [00:23:00] partnership looks like, you know, in every aspect.

So, 

Eric Denio: and I think they enjoyed each other's company. Like Tracy said, you'd always see them together. I remember, I don't know how many dogs back, but little yo yo, you know, was one of the dogs and a little fluffy, little cute guy. I'm going to be sitting on either grandpa's lap or grandma's lap, and it was years, years past and we would have vendors that have been around for a long time.

I just miss your grandma and grandpa running around with the dog. I really miss that. And it was just sweet. I mean, very, very touching, you know, moments when I would have these conversations because people remembered that. And, and I can honestly say like Tracy. I have never seen my grandparents fight, ever.

I mean, they just worked together. Not about business, 

Tracie Denio: not about any of it. They were such a team. They 

Eric Denio: were just such a team, you know. When we would get together, again 

Tracie Denio: Family was big for me. As I said earlier, 

Eric Denio: my grandfather would get a little bit of drink at him and he would start opening up and everybody would just kind of stop and listen because [00:24:00] he lived through so many neat things, you know.

He was a World War II vet, he was an MP in the Army, and where he came from, you know. And just, you know, nobody would know. I mean, this uneducated individual that just loved people and he really wanted to give a hand up. Not necessarily a handout, but a hand up, and just gave opportunity. I mean, still to this day with individuals that are still in the market that are selling.

So they were neat people. Very, very neat people. I think a very good example for a younger generation to look at somebody and go, I really want that. You know, I want to have that. 

Tracie Denio: And they made sure the family got together. I mean, we, what, at least once a month had big family dinners. place out there for a long time, which we, you know, called the Holiday Inn and we had, so they had built all these rooms and then we had a big pool and it was out at the market and that's where the family would get together because, you know, we had family that would come in from out of town and, but, you know, it was that they just were a very good example of what matters and that's relationships and [00:25:00] family.

Eric Denio: Yeah. Amen. Yeah. 

Natalie Kling: That's so, it's so romantic to think that they transcended their education and backgrounds at such a young age and that that could have, that whatever that connection was between them probably grew over time. Oh yeah. 

Eric Denio: Absolutely. Very 

Tracie Denio: clear. And they love to travel. That's another thing we need to mention.

They, I think my dad was like 12. So they had the four kids. My dad was like, That's right. And they took the kids out of school for six months and did a whole world tour, flew everywhere and they were in the newspapers about it. Just it was unheard of back in, it's still unheard of even now, but yeah, for six months, just traveled the world.

Eric Denio: Wow. I remember, remember grand, grandpa bragging about being on the great wall of China and having his family there, you know, and I mean just very, very special moment to him. Um, yeah. And again, it was about his family. You know, what he did was to support this. You know, pod. And as it grew, we were just blessed to be born into the [00:26:00] family.

And so, you know, we would get together and, you know, with our cousins and just have a wonderful time. But I remember being at the kind of the edge of my seat, listening to my grandfather. And 

Tracie Denio: Eric is the oldest. It goes, Eric and then me, we are the oldest. Yeah, I'm the oldest 

Eric Denio: grandkid out of We were the 

Tracie Denio: only grandkids for a little while there.

Yeah, 

Eric Denio: yep. 

Natalie Kling: What a neat story of, they were so open to risk and adventure. And what a great, what a great example for all of us. Yeah. Because we all get caught up in the day to day. Very easily. And for them, especially when you have first gen, people who are so, so hard working that they found And I think it's really important for people to have that moment to take 

Tracie Denio: their family and 

Natalie Kling: probably make memory, I mean, to be on the Great Wall of China with your family.

We 

Tracie Denio: still love hearing dad's stories about that trip. My dad randomly, 

Eric Denio: my dad, and this wasn't too long ago, this was within the past year, and kind of touching moment for me, you know, his office is a couple offices away from mine, and he had this envelope, and he brought it, and he sat [00:27:00] down, you know, and he's busy, he's always doing something, and so he sat down in front of me, and he started pulling out pictures.

And he was showing, you know, pictures from Asia, pictures from Europe, and I mean, just going through different places that they traveled on that trip. And so he would actually bring these pictures to life, talking about, you know, what, what he was doing and, you know, around that time, all old black and white pictures.

And I thought it was neat, you know, so clearly. at such a young age, at twelve, but all four kids having that opportunity to do that. Yeah. And my 

Tracie Denio: grandmother, it was, I think about it now, and I'm so thankful that she captured everything. She was a big letter writer, so she would write letters. Family tree I have some from her to me Pictures and she would, you know, we have so many albums, I think up in our mezzanine we've got just pallets full of just different, you know, things that she had put together so it's fun to just go every now and again, I go up and just start [00:28:00] perusing through and, you know, even from their honeymoon, there's photos of everything.

It's just, it's so fun to see everywhere they traveled and, 

Eric Denio: you 

Tracie Denio: know, she did a neat, neat job. Yeah, she did 

Eric Denio: a really good job. Yeah, a lot of those memories. 

Natalie Kling: That is so special. Oh gosh, it reminds me I got to get my photo albums together. 

Tracie Denio: I know. Do people even do that anymore or is it just Facebook?

Everything is so digital now, yeah. You 40 years, or my grandkids are going to go back. I got to be very careful of what I post on Facebook, right? Yeah, that's right. If it still exists, 

Natalie Kling: I mean, there must be Yeah, 

Eric Denio: good point. Totally new. What's the next social thing? Yeah, it's 

Natalie Kling: amazing. So let's go back a little bit to you guys growing up in the business.

What was your perspective as kids? And then I'd like to lead into then, did you have an idea that you would. Work for the family company. 

Tracie Denio: Yeah. I mean, so when we were real little, mom would bring us out on the weekend and we'd go visit dad [00:29:00] and Pat Vaughn was our market manager. And so she'd always give Eric and I a dollar to go and find and buy something.

And I, that's one of my best memories is Pat would give us a dollar and we'd get to go hunt around for what we wanted. And back then you could get a lot, you know, for that dollar, but so we, you know, we knew the vendor families, the vendor families knew us, we, you know, knew the employees. I mean, my goodness, our controller today, she's still with us, and she started when I was three years old, so she's been with us since I was three years old, and so she's worked for every generation, and she's just, you know, amazing, and, you know, so we've got all these wonderful people that we've been around, and I think early on, I mean, I remember Eric and I having conversations about, hey, you know, do we want to do this?

You know, do we want to keep this going? And it always was something. I think, I 

Eric Denio: think it wasn't necessarily like forced or an expectation, you know, from grandparents or parents. I think there was always. We hope, you know, that it goes that [00:30:00] direction, but we never felt forced by any means. We 

Tracie Denio: knew we had to work for it, we knew it wasn't going to just be, It wasn't going to be easy.

Eric Denio: You know, I think a lot of individuals maybe have an idea about the family dynamic in a family business and a lot of folks don't understand a lot of what happens in that. I mean, when you're Working the numbers and you're looking at future vision and you know things that you really have to think about and there's gonna be Sometimes different ideas, you know, thank God that Tracy and I we get along very well We have a very similar vision and there's times where you know Sometimes I'll have an idea and she'll be and I'm not sure about that, you know But maybe it's a piece of the puzzle That she has the other and we click them together and it kind of makes it work So just you know, I think it's real easy for individuals on the outside I would love to work with my family This is going to be the best thing since peanut butter and jelly and you know They don't realize it is a lot of work at times, you know So I think we're pretty blessed [00:31:00] with the relationship that we have getting back to your question about or your Where we are talking about being young and kind of being around the market.

I have very simple memories, but very fond You I remember being in the shop. We have a full service shop. You know, we used to do a lot of work on vehicles and, and our own company equipment. And so, I would, my dad would give me a 2x4. I was very, very young. A hammer and 16 penny nails. And I would sit down and I would nail nails into this 2x4 and, I loved it.

Tracie Denio: He thought he was working. There's Mr. Blue Collar 

Eric Denio: Kid right there, you know, that likes to work with his hands. You know, that's the one thing that's interesting is my dad, very intelligent man. I mean, reads everything, was a pilot and, but a fantastic welder. I mean, can put electrical together, that type of thing.

I'm very much like that. I love it's kind of my time to let my mind kind of. [00:32:00] wind down a little bit. And so I'll go and I'll build things and design things, that type of thing. I don't like sitting behind a desk all the time, although that's part of what I do. So I'm kind of half and half. So 

Tracie Denio: it's fun when I have a vision, I'm like.

Eric Denio: Yeah. I 

Tracie Denio: know he can do it. Hey Eric, I want this built. Yeah, when she 

Eric Denio: looks at me and I'm going, that's gonna be a lot of work. 

Tracie Denio: Don't try to act like you can't do it. 

Eric Denio: Darn 

Tracie Denio: it. I know. 

Eric Denio: Starting from that 2x4 with 16 penny nails, doggone it. How old 

Natalie Kling: were you when you were doing that, Eric? 

Eric Denio: Oh gosh, I had to bend. I don't know, maybe three.

There's pictures. I have pictures. I would gauge probably three or four, yeah, around there. Oh, cool. 

Natalie Kling: And interesting too, you had your own shop. I mean, you guys would service other vehicles for other people? No, that was internally. That was ours, yeah. Oh, okay. Carts. We have 

Tracie Denio: carts today and, you know, we still have, you know, work vehicles and things like that.

Yeah, 

Eric Denio: a couple of young full time mechanics that kind of keep things going. So, but, yeah, no, it's, uh, 

Natalie Kling: [00:33:00] But also how entrepreneurial to be like, well, we're going to fix our own vehicles on site. Right. 

Eric Denio: Absolutely. That's 

Natalie Kling: first gen thinking right there. 

Tracie Denio: Yeah. Where, where were your grandparents from or where were their families from?

My grandmother from Lovelock, Nevada. And there's even a town in Nevada named after the family, the Denayo side though. So grandpa, I'm not sure how that came about, but 

Natalie Kling: yeah. 

Tracie Denio: And my grandfather came from Martinez. But where did they, where did their families originate outside of America? Oh, oh, uh, French Canadians.

Yeah, French Canadian. Yeah, French Canadian. Both of them. Yeah, so when I look at, you know, the ancestry, I don't know if you've done that. I've done that. We'll have to compare or see how much DNA we really share. Just very European. Very. 

Natalie Kling: Yeah. 

Tracie Denio: Yeah. 

Natalie Kling: Yeah. So, so tell me about your, your thought process, both of you individually of you were, you, you came together and you, you pretty much agreed that you would, you would carry it [00:34:00] on.

Were there other cousins? that were involved, interested, or was it really just the two of you? 

Tracie Denio: It was really just the two of us. We had, we had a cousin that worked in the business for a while, but it just really didn't fit what he wanted to do. And, and my aunts had, they had moved away. So my other cousins, you know, really never were a part of it.

So yeah, it really kind of just fell on, on Eric and I, and, and like I said, we started working very young and, Really just because, you know, our, it was required to have a summer job and school was also very important. So we both went to college and, you know, and family. We've both, you know, I started my family very young as Eric did as well.

And, but, but yeah, so. 

Eric Denio: And I think, I think probably my Uncle Tom, who was the youngest, unfortunately, gosh, I was 13 when he passed of cancer and that was just a huge hit on the family. He was only 30 years old. Yeah, he was, he was very young. And so that was quite, quite [00:35:00] frankly, that was a nightmare, you know, and, and it really, you know, with my dad, I mean, I think it put a little bit more pressure on him of stepping up and kind of taking that place.

My uncle was, extremely outgoing. You know, I was, I was very young, of course, but I mean, even stories to this day, you know, your uncle Tom, I loved him. He was so well spoken. He would always be out there in the public eye and representing the business, you know, quite well. And nothing against my dad, he's just a little more quiet, a little more reserved, you know.

Yeah, he'd be like, yeah. More like my dad. Yeah, that's Tracy. Oh, we're doing public speaking, get up there, you know, I'll stand behind you. Like, girl, come on. Even this. She's so well spoken. Yeah. Yeah, so. 

Natalie Kling: So you, you guys, do you remember, was there a time when your dad came to you and said, okay, you guys are, this is you or, or, or we got to do something else?

Was there a succession [00:36:00] conversation? Or do you remember moments where the two of you really came together to decide that you were going to go forward? Was there a formal moment or was it just Because we've been, 

Tracie Denio: we've been in the business and literally have worked just every aspect of it, and you know, we, we had our sideline conversation, so it just kind of naturally happened.

And when dad was, You know, ready to retire, which has just been recent. He still comes into the office, but 

Eric Denio: Twiddles his thumbs. We don't know what 

Tracie Denio: he does. Whatever he wants to do. But, um, but, you know, I mean, no, it kind of just was a natural, like, because we were there and we've committed. I mean, at our ages, I don't think we could really go out and find another job at this point if we don't want to do it, right?

Well, 

Eric Denio: I remember sweeping around. We call it the A building, one of our original buildings, you know. Have a couple large vendors in there, but I would do circles around it, and I'm trying to remember the manager I think it was it might have been Pat [00:37:00] Vaughn, and so I was given a pan, and I was given a broom and I was told go around the building and and I 12 is 13 is that about right?

12, and so I remember Going going around the building the one time and I picked up all the garbage And then I went back into the break room, and I was sitting there waiting Well, I was supposed to be like 

Tracie Denio: Continuing. Continuing. 

Eric Denio: And so I had, the manager came back into the break room and said, Eric? What are you doing like sitting here in the break room?

I said well I did what you said I went around the building and then i'm i'm here So i'm ready to do whatever you want. No, you need to be out there and pick up the garbage throughout the day so that was kind of my first experience of Okay Keep it going. Yeah, no 

Tracie Denio: special treatment here. 

Eric Denio: Oh brother so funny Yeah, 

Tracie Denio: I think I got sent home one time.

My shorts were too short. So they sent me home. Oh, okay 

Eric Denio: Tracy back in the Daisy Dukes days. I 

Tracie Denio: just have really long legs, I guess. I don't [00:38:00] know. No, we never got special treatment. 

Natalie Kling: So, how do you guys see going forward to the next generation? What are your conversations around that like? And how do you incorporate, engage your kids now?

Tracie Denio: Well, you know, that's something we've kind of talked about. I think we're so much focused on. this point and haven't really kind of had serious conversations about that. But I, you know, Eric's got, you know, daughters and I've got, you know, six kids and I think There's a spot for, you know, whoever wants to be a part of it.

I think maybe a couple of my children would like to, to do things. My oldest son, he's in construction, he's a journeyman. And so he's, you know, doing really well doing that. My second son, he's an attorney and, you know, he actually has done some work for us and, you know, and then my daughters, they're in marketing, kind of living their own life.

So, you know, I, I don't think we've had any really [00:39:00] serious conversations about, Hey, You know, do you guys really want, you know, to keep this going? Because we're still, you know, I mean, we're not that old, right? Fifty year old. Look it, I'll tell you that. She says 

Eric Denio: she turns 27 every year. So that means I turn 29.

So I just I just turned 29 on the 10th of November. 

Tracie Denio: Well, I always say I always tell the story of I had an old friend that said, Hey, if you forgot how old you were, how old would you think you were? And so if you stop and think about that, geez, I don't know, how old do I think I am? And 27 just sounds right.

I agree. 

Eric Denio: Yep, yep. I think, I think as time progresses, I think both of us would hope that our children would want to be involved, you know. And I think there would always be a place for them. And I think it would be the same mindset of, You know, kind of start at the bottom. A lot of these youngsters, you know, they want to be the CEO immediately and, you know, that's kind of the mindset a lot of times where they don't understand there is, you know, a time factor and you working and understanding these [00:40:00] positions.

I have three daughters. One went into the military. She's in the Navy and just recently got married. And so I don't think she's, you know, she's doing extremely well. Very proud of her. I have two youngsters. I have a 15 year old that's still in the house and I have one that's going to be 13 very soon. And you know, I think we more focused, both of us, we want them to be good citizens.

We want them to get an education. We want them to get their feet under them and we'll kind of see where that goes. You know, um, I have one that's very good at math. I mean, she just, she'll, she's probably going to get mad at me for telling the story, but she says, dad, this was just this last week. She says, dad, I'm really thinking about kinda.

Maybe doing some of my friend's homework because I did it for one of them and I made 20 bucks in cash. And I thought, when 

Natalie Kling: you're good, you're good. 

Eric Denio: A young entrepreneur. She's, you know, I'm like, honey, they should be doing their own homework, but you know, teachers 

Natalie Kling: aren't listening. Yeah. Oh, so cute. It's [00:41:00] true.

And, and, and I think watching your kids own their own gifts and talents and then sort of. Crossing your fingers and hoping that they bring them bring them back and 

Eric Denio: if 

Natalie Kling: not, you have a different conversation in ten years Well, our 

Eric Denio: you know our dad and I and I think it's valid. He always thought it would be good to kind of You know, before you just come into the family business, you know, we started very young and so it was just our life, but I mean, maybe to get some outside experience, maybe work for another company, whatever that is.

And 

Tracie Denio: we both did for a little bit of time, but we always gravitated right back. Yeah. 

Eric Denio: You know, get a couple years under your belt and then come back and I think it just gives you a different perspective. You look through a different set of eyes. When it's your name on the company that you know, customers are coming through and I think it means a little bit more about, wow, what is their experience?

What are they going to say about denials? I'm a denial, you know? And so, you know, I [00:42:00] think that could be a possibility. You know, I, I, like I say, my oldest daughter, she's, has a career. She was very excited when she was in high school. She was looking at the University of Wyoming, maybe pharmacy tech, that type of thing.

Nursing, has a big heart, loves to help people. And a recruiter got a hold of her and did a 180 and it's, I'm going into the Navy, this is what I'm doing, you know, and she was set. She was so excited about, I'm going to have a career before all of my other friends. They're still going to be in school and not know what they're doing.

And so doing exceptionally well, but we're pretty, we're blessed. We're pretty blessed. Our kids are wonderful. They're good, good people. Probably in the next 

Tracie Denio: five to 10 years, we'll have the conversation. We'll have a better, better vision. Yeah. 

Natalie Kling: You are obviously siblings, and I know you've said, which I, I really can appreciate, that thank goodness you really, for the most part, get along on the big things, and agree on the big things.

Maybe it's the little things once in a while that you have to figure out, but How have you [00:43:00] navigated if there's been a challenging conversation, a challenging moment in the business and having to go to, you know, we always say the Sunday night family dinner or the birthday party or, or whatever it is, how have the two of you navigated that over the years?

Eric Denio: Well, let me, let me take this one. One thing I want to make very clear is my sister is a very intelligent woman and I don't just say that. I really mean that. And she knows that. You know, was thinking about being an attorney, you know, kind of going down that road. She can out argue anybody, nobody will ever win.

Kevin will, you know, kind of have my back on that one. But so she's, she's been in that position where, you know, some of those hard calls, even through COVID, I mean, very, very tough times for so many industries, so many businesses. And one thing that I always appreciate about her is she's very, very good at pulling the team together, you know.

Not my way or the highway. I don't think that really works. It might be in some industries, but in ours, [00:44:00] we have a team that has been around for so many years. Everybody's going to kind of see through a little bit different set of eyes with the same goal. What is best for the business? What is best for our customers, for our vendors?

For our employees and there were times where I mean it was tough and I'm kind of referring to in the covid times And tracy was very good about just getting everybody together and having those tough conversations There would be five or six of us key employees And we would have to kind of move forward.

Okay, what's where are we going guys? And taking that information and then finding kind of what the best result would be out of that. And so I I appreciate her being in that hot seat, you know, I'm here to back her up and you know to in those tough decisions, but there's a lot of things that she does that I would not want to have to, 

Tracie Denio: to be in that 

Eric Denio: position.

You know, the reason it works 

Tracie Denio: for Eric and I, we are very different, our personalities. I think So where he's strong, I'm weak, where I'm, you know, [00:45:00] in the same, I mean, we just, we, our team work together just between he and I. We, we know we recognize our strengths and we appreciate that. And we're not, you know, we're not, so we don't have big egos where.

I have to be right or he has to be right. I think like, you know, when we jokingly talk about the little things, there is a story and it's about a, a church pew. And Eric decided he wanted to go out and buy these church pews. And I'm like, don't do it. Don't do it. But he did. He went out and bought them and he put them out in our market.

There 

Eric Denio: was a vendor that actually had church pews, believe it or not, went out. Um, and so they were like nice used for sure spews padded and everything, and I had this brilliant idea. She's talking about 

Tracie Denio: seating and I'm like, I can't believe he went and did that. So it's this running joke, even within our team because they lasted what one season because then of course the rain came and they got demolished.

But I'm always like, You know, I want to buy a church pew and just stick it in his office just to remind him that I was right. 

Eric Denio: So there was a time where the customers came and they were like, wow, these are really comfortable [00:46:00] seats, whatever, you know, realizing they were definitely church pews. But 

Tracie Denio: it's just simple things like that.

But we've never had a point where we've like, You know, I mean, my goodness, he's always been my protector growing up as his younger sister. I didn't have to worry about anything. I mean, my brother's always made sure I was taken care of and no one was ever gonna. 

Eric Denio: Well, and not realizing that she could have taken care of herself.

She's a very tough person, so. 

Natalie Kling: One thing that you had mentioned, Tracy, in our, in our previous conversation is that you really live by Christian values. And, you know, I, I say this with no agenda because I'm not necessarily, I don't have a religion myself, but I have noticed in the, in the interviews that we've done over the last couple of years, when families do have those values, it is a little bit easier, I think, to be a little more humble, to, um, really prioritize the relationship and the [00:47:00] family.

And so tell us a little bit about how that's helped you, both of you, either of you in really prioritizing family in a family business. 

Tracie Denio: Absolutely. Well, I mean, being followers of followers of Christ, we, we do, we have this, this moral compass that we come back to where people matter. Everybody, you know, We, we can, you know, we want to change, you know, we talked a little bit about changing the world.

Well, people have these ideas, oh, I, you know, to change the world what they do. And I really believe it's, it's one person at a time. And when you really care deeply about people and their, what's going on in their lives, I mean, you know, you always have something to come back to. And that's something with Eric and I, we grew up in a Christian household.

And we don't just, You know, say the words, we walk it out, you know, in every aspect, whether it's with our families or our employees or our friends, you know, it's just something where we want to make sure that, you know, That, you know, we've been blessed being in this family and having what we have. So why not use all that to better [00:48:00] other people in our lives and the relationships and that in the end, I mean, this, we live this life, but just a little tiny piece of eternity, we're here and it needs to matter, you know, we want to make right choices to, you know, and like I said, I, I want to, I want people to feel, you know, uh, valued because that's what people remember.

They don't remember other things, but they'll remember how you made them feel. Yeah, absolutely. And that, that derives from what we learn from, from Christ, you know. 

Eric Denio: On my mom's side, my, our grandparents, wonderful, loving people. I mean, I, when I think about them, I remember actually getting my first kind of kid's Bible from my grandma Owens.

And um, so my grandpa was a plumber and she was a hairdresser, uh, kind of their background and just. who were loving people, just, just like my grandma and grandpa Denayo. But 

Tracie Denio: on the spiritual, you know, more, more spiritual. 

Eric Denio: Yeah. And so they would, they would sit down and we would have just have wonderful [00:49:00] conversations.

And I think very walking out their faith, not just carrying a 50 pound Bible and, you know, thumping people over the head type people, you know, I think that's a turnoff in any faith. It doesn't matter, but they were just good people. And I think that really rubbed off on both of us. And so You know, there were times where I went through personally very, very tough times through a past divorce.

And I think it was that fate that, you know, kind of got me through that. And I always appreciate, you know, Tracy, you know, not just talking about it, but really showing it to individuals that just need some loving, you know. I mean, everybody struggles and goes through life, you know, tough times. And, you know, why can't we just go and love on people, I mean, and make the world a better place.

That's right. Be a position to be able to do that. That's right. 

Natalie Kling: I think what you just said is so important. And especially in this era where we, a lot of the younger people coming up, you know, my 10 year old son, you know, is like thinking that if you're not [00:50:00] an influencer, you're not making a difference.

You know, you're not making an impact. You're not good enough. You're not big enough. But what you said, Tracy, you know, changing the world is changing one person at a time or, or even impacting one person at a time is such a great message. And true. And important. Yeah. And the fact that you guys can live that out and, and, and you're getting that feedback that that is true and real for your lives is, is inspiring.

So thanks for sharing that. Yeah. 

Tracie Denio: Absolutely. Absolutely. for asking about that. 

Natalie Kling: Yeah. So our, our final question that we ask all of our guests is, do you think that the success of Denios is more due to hard work or luck? Hard work 

Tracie Denio: for sure. 

Natalie Kling: I 

Eric Denio: would definitely say hard work. We've we've talked about this many, many a times in the past recent years, but I I think it would be nearly impossible Maybe honestly in any state to [00:51:00] To do what my grandfather did back then, you know looking at denials and and you know the I mean, I don't know how big it is now.

I mean, just the property alone. I think it would be nearly impossible even with hard work to do to start something and continue it. So I would say definitely hard work. I think it was the right time. I think the timing was perfect. And again, You know, my grandparents, they weren't thinking, we're just going to keep working hard and build this thing up to this giant place.

They did not think that way. They were thinking, there's all these needs. Look at all these vendors. And I mean, and they're selling all these awesome wares and let's bring more of them in and let's just have this. Wonderful place, you know, kind of this city within a city, and, and it grew up to be a, a Yeah, 

Tracie Denio: and I think we both know that we, with everybody that relies on us, the vendor families, our employees, we cannot leave it to luck.

It's gonna be hard work. Yeah, has to, has to be directed. And planning, and, and it's gonna be intentional. [00:52:00] Absolutely. And that's where we, the standpoint we come from. 

Natalie Kling: Beautiful. Anything else you would like to share about your family or your story or anything that you feel would add value to other family businesses navigating the world of family business?

Tracie Denio: You know I think be thankful. You know I mean be thankful. We know that the opportunity was there in front of us and we took that opportunity and and uh You know, I think, too, just, you know, leave the selfishness and, you know, the, the, just the way of the world like that, everybody, you know, we live in a very selfish.

Eric Denio: It's all about me. 

Tracie Denio: Yeah. All about me world, you know, and I, I think you can't take that attitude when you've got so many people relying on you. And I think what really, you know, through COVID, boy, that really, you know, Open eye opener because we had these vendor families that we didn't know what you know we had to make sure that we were at the helm so that they could open up and You know back, you know because they were closed for like five six weeks.

I don't know thinking [00:53:00] back to it It's just such a crazy time. But you know It just, you have to be intentional and you can't be selfish. You have to, it's for the greater good. 

Eric Denio: And I would say anybody that has a passion for whatever that is, I mean, pursue your passion, pursue it. And, you know, with some sweat on the brow and I mean, sometimes dirty hands and diving into it.

There, you know, anything's in pop, you know, nothing's impossible, everything is possible, and sometimes that's going to take time and effort, and I think that was my grandfather. He just was a hard worker and that type of work ethic. I think is a is a little more few and far between at least what I see in this generation, whether that's, you know, kids kind of having their nose and their phones and that type of thing.

Technology. I think technology is wonderful, but I think sometimes it's, there was a moment that always sticks in my mind. And I remember my grandmother looking at her computer screen and she says, you know, I can, I can [00:54:00] just see in the future where this is going to be what people are going to be doing on a regular basis and not.

face to face and actually relationships and she really treasured that she treasured people and you know and again going back to their relationship it really showed and so I think we can kind of learn some lessons from some of those small glimpses but yeah generation yeah but hard work hard work and effort can get you places definitely.

Natalie Kling: You said something and I just have to ask one more question because you said, you know, follow your passion. And a lot of the younger generations now there is this big thing of, well, what's my passion? Let me find my passion first and then find a career or job that follows. How did you two think about that?

Was it your passion? Did you think this is our passion? This is my passion and I'm going to do it. Or did it, did it, Just evolve over time that this was the opportunity that you were going to make work. 

Tracie Denio: I think a little bit of both, you know, I mean, honestly it did kind [00:55:00] of evolve. And I think it was really the love of, of the business, the vendors, like I said, as little kids going out and being a part of that when we'd get that dollar and get to go shop or the, the employees, I mean, my goodness, we just adore our team of employees, all of them, every single one of them.

And the ones that really are. Helping us move this forward because it's not just Eric and I but yeah, I mean no mistake about it We've got a team of people that just are loyal and we're loyal to them and it really is it's the relationships I think for me that that kind of became the passion of we're gonna keep this this going Because we have a duty to these other families Absolutely.

Eric Denio: Well, and I love what I do. I mean, I I have a team of Seven individuals and we do our own asphalt work internally, you know, construction, welding, all that heavy equipment. Again, kind of a blue collar kid, you know, that, that Does some white collar work, but I mean I thoroughly [00:56:00] enjoy what I do I think I would actually you know, probably lean more towards engineering construction, you know, well, he's never 

Tracie Denio: in his office He's always out in the yard

Natalie Kling: That's so great what a good balance Well, thank you, Tracy and Eric so much. Thanks for coming in and sharing your story. And by the way, congratulations for being on the cover of Comstock in October. Well deserved. Yeah. And if anyone has an opportunity to grab that magazine, that would be a great way to support our local Sacramento area and obviously this wonderful family.

So thank you guys. Thank you. We appreciate your time 

Tracie Denio: and for bringing us on.

Natalie Kling: Thank you for listening to A Seat at the Table, Trials and Triumphs of Family Business. If you like what you heard today, please be sure to subscribe, post a positive [00:57:00] review and share with another family business owner. For more information about the Capital Region Family Business Center, visit cap family biz.org.

That's Cap family BU s.org. You can also follow us on Facebook at Capital Region Family Business Center and on Instagram. At cap fam biz, B I Z. If you know of other family businesses that have a story to share, please contact the family business center at info at cap family biz. org. That's B U S. We're grateful for the support from river city bank to make this program possible and special thanks to Guy Raz from how I built this for a wonderful closing question.

That's become one of our favorites.