Mike and Tawnia Douglass recently opened the Coverworks Plus flooring store in John Day.

Stacy DeLong has an upbeat view of the John Day area — and her investment in a new business here shows it.

DeLong, who spent 14 years as a hospital administrator, and her husband, Mark, a building contractor, bought the Coverworks Plus store in Baker City in January 2016. Bob and Fern Taylor had operated the business for more than 40 years, she said.

Soon after acquiring the Baker City store, the DeLongs met Mike Douglass, and their plans to expand the flooring business into John Day moved up.

“When we bought the Baker City store, we never thought about branching out until we met Mike,” DeLong said. “We had talked about starting a satellite store, but we had figured in 2019. Then we saw signs of growth in the John Day area and went ahead and started up a store in John Day.”

DeLong follows news about the John Day area and said she is enthused by the numerous projects spearheaded by City Manager Nick Green.

Douglass started managing the John Day store at 160 Dayton St. in September and is keeping busy with installations. He’s been in the flooring business for 25 years, including 13 years in the John Day area.

Douglass said the new store will grow more after the first of the year, with his wife, Tawnia, staffing the store while Douglass is out on installations.

Coverworks John Day offers a full range of flooring products, from linoleum and porcelain or ceramic tile to carpeting, hardwood and rugs.

“The newest product that’s going crazy is called luxury vinyl planking that looks like wood or tile,” DeLong said. “It’s waterproof, scratch-proof and dent-proof. It’s a nice-looking product that comes in a wide range of prices.”

A popular style of wall-to-wall carpeting in central and Eastern Oregon is frieze (pronounced free-zay), DeLong said — a low shag carpeting with colored speckles. Area rugs that are popular in this part of Oregon feature Western designs, including cabins, bear paws and cowboys. Coverworks also carries traditional European designs, she said.

In addition to helping with interior design, Coverworks will install linoleum, carpeting and tile. They also install and restore hardwood flooring.

For more information, call the store in John Day at 541-620-4831.