Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
A new computer business is open in Colfax in the same location where the owner and his wife once ate pizza on a date. Shawn Burt has opened Colfax Computer Services at the former site of Old Whitehouse Pizza.
Since that date in 1995, Shawn and Janni Burt married and have had five children. In 1997, Shawn was hired at the Bank of Whitman in information technology where he worked for 15 years, including seven months on contract work following the transition to Columbia Bank.
Burt opened his store March 19 after a significant remodeling project which included building cabinets and a long counter, remodeling bathrooms, and adding a play area for children.
The business is an extension of the online consulting work he has done for the past five years.
When he was not hired on by Columbia Bank for full-time, he began looking for a job. Many openings came up on the East Coast but the Burts – both originally from Clarkston – really didn’t want to move, especially that far away.
So in October of last year, they decided to open a shop in Colfax.
“We kept our eyes open for spots,” said Burt. “Realistically, I could run the whole thing out of my house but I’ve got five kids,” he said.
He kept considering locations.
“If we could make it happen on Main Street, we would,” Burt said. “One problem was everything’s for sale, nothing’s for rent.”
In the end, Burt rented space in the-two story building at 124 N. Main from David and Lori Nails.
“Other than the paint job, we really liked the place,” said Burt. “We really saw the potential when we walked in the door.”
The remodeling work began while Burt kept up his contract work with Columbia Bank. He served on the conversion team, which did labor intensive mainframe and imaging conversion. The project lasted from the closing of Bank of Whitman in August until March 9.
Now Burt has his own business.
The shop offers all areas of help regarding computers, he said.
“Whatever piece of the puzzle, whether it’s a small piece or the whole thing.”
This includes sales, repair, consulting, custom software, websites and process automation.
“I do sell computers but realistically I don’t expect people to buy computers from me,” Burt said. “That’s not the target. I’m encouraging people to get what they want and let me make it better for them.”
He also plans to offer classes based on the demand in the community.
In addition, electronics repair is available; from CD players to DVD players, VCRs and televisions.
In February, Burt fixed the scoring machines at Wheatland Lanes. The copper connectors were corroding, so he took apart the circuit board and cleaned the connectors with fine-grit sandpaper.
“Electronics is electronics is electronics,” he said.
Before coming to Colfax, Burt worked for B&I Computers in Lewiston for two years after one year at ITT in Spokane right after high school.
While he was in high school at Clarkston, Burt performed work for the school district and, before graduation, put in a bid to set up a new computer lab at the school. He had no degree, and the school board decided not to use him.
His introduction to computers came in first and second grade, in the early ‘80s, when his mom was going to classes to get an accounting degree. The classes were teaching accountants how to program computers, to build their own tools for accounting. This was before Lotus 1-2-3 and other accounting software came about.
Burt’s mother had these books around the house and her young son started reading them. At school, he worked on Apple IIs and discovered what he could do.
“I was able to play,” he said.
Soon the family got a Commodore 64 at home and later Burt moved on to an IBM PC with a 286 chip-set.
In seventh grade, he was one of the initial subscribers to American Online, in 1987, when it was a dial-in service through Compuserve.
“You were going from computer to computer when they had the time and money to dial long-distance,” Burt said.
In high school, he started his own computer business, “Compumall,” in which he did the work for the school district.
Colfax Computer Services opened March 19 and will operate from 9 to 5:30 Monday through Friday and Saturdays by appointment.
“Ultimately, I want to empower the user in any way they want,” said Burt. “If you want to learn, I’ll teach you. If you just want it fixed, I’ll fix it.”
Janni acts as receptionist and office manager.
The Burts’ shop is the latest business at the location, which was the former home of The Quilted Moose and before that Smokin’ Papas, Bulldog Pizza and, of course, Old Whitehouse Pizza.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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