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Show Tacky in, yuppie out in Farmington Grouse & Browse groundbreaking set stereotypical used-car salesmen hawk apparel worn by as many as three or four different owners. What's the attraction? Some of the clothes are the castoffs of nondescript owners, but other items such as lingerie and handkerchiefs are the throw-a-ways of major stars like Madonna, or of famous erstwhile network sports analyst Howard CoseU. Corporate Vice-president Jim Bob Raymundsen takes a modest view of the retail chain's surprising success. "Used, threadbare, riches to rags count chain would be good for Farmington, there is dissent on whether or not the store should be required to incorporate stone masonry on the front of the building to comply with city zoning ordinances. or-dinances. City Planner Craig Hinckley has in the past said stone masonry is a must, but corporate officials have complained about the cost which they say would be prohibitive. "Besides, it would look too upscale and that's not really what we're about. Customers would walk in and see something entirely different than what the exterior suggests and sue us for false advertising," adver-tising," Raymundsen complained at a council meeting last week. Raymundsen favors using crushed crush-ed rhinestones in place of the masonry to convey to potential shoppers the "tackiness" he says is the hallmark of the chain's success. "We want something that says we are the rough in a field of diamonds." he said. Councilmen Gary Elliott and Jim Parsell recommended further study and a public hearing on the matter. A compromise is in the works that would allow fake stone masonry to be used. One vehement opponent of the idea said, "I fear we will be opening a real Pandora's box here. ' ' r" L fc. - .-. : rtfcu " - -A By MARK EDDINGTON Staff Writer F A R M -TNGTON Groundbreaking on a discount store described by industry insiders as a cross between Pik 'N Save, a carnival and an army surplus outlet will begin tomorrow in Farmington. Construction on the new 80,000 square foot warehouse-like Grouse and Browse is scheduled to begin in earnest on the vacant property north of Kmart within the week. Building magnate N. Golf DeVauer said he can't wait for the first backhoe to tear into the virgin soil. "It will be a Kodak moment. That's for damn sure!," said DeVauer. Ordinarily a high-brow moment attended by prominent private citizens and public officials, Farmington Farm-ington is deliberately making this 10 a.m. groundbreaking a low key affair. City officials, who have tired at the worrisome and wearisome attacks at-tacks of critics lampooning Farmington Farm-ington s upscale yuppie image, hope opening the Grouse and Browse will silence the critics once and for all. '-"Maybe, just maybe, they'll start picking on Centerville or Fruit Heights now," said one city official. offi-cial. Grouse and Browse, a nationwide retail chain consisting of more than 30 stores in such out-of-the-way places as Magna, Utah; Butte, Mont.; Shiprock, N.M. and Tuba City, Ariz, has become something of a grass-roots retail phenomenon. Its success is largely attributed to its violation of conventional marketing techniques. For example, all the merchandise in the store's "Wishing or Fishing" section is lumped together in plastic aquariums shielded from customers' sight by burlap curtains. Patrons pay $3 for a fishing pole and cast over the curtain to see if Othey can reel in a bargain. Then there is the "Sloppy Seconds" department where vendor-like employees dressed like Tacky the dinosaur, Grouse Sl Browse official mascot, is nopping with enthusiam about the retail chain's new Farmington store. are what's in, much like the recession reces-sion we are experiencing. Consumers Con-sumers have downscaled their wants to conform to economic reality. real-ity. People want tacky and we're going to provide it to them. Of course, it's going to cost them," Raymundsen said. While there was a broad-based consensus by the City Council and Planning Commission that the dis- |