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Tai Pan Trading breaks ground in Clearfield

2nd location will open in October, create 75 jobs

By Natalie Clemens
Deseret Morning News
A Utah-grown wholesale home decor business is branching out by building a retail building in Davis County.
Tai Pan Trading held an official ground-breaking ceremony for a new building at 1400 E. 700 South, Clearfield. The building will be the second for the business, which was started by Nick Stewart of Orem.
Stewart said Clearfield city has been very easy to work with.
"We are thrilled to death to be here in Clearfield because of the reception we've had from the city," he said.
Clearfield Mayor Don Wood welcomed Tai Pan Trading to the area.
"I'd like to express our appreciation to Nick Stewart and Bruce McAllister for the confidence and commitment they have for our city of Clearfield," Wood said.
The Clearfield location of Tai Pan Trading will create 75 new jobs and is scheduled to open in October. Tom Stuart Construction broke ground on the project in the middle of May.
The 100,000-square-foot building will house 70,000 square feet of showroom and 30,000 square feet of warehouse space. It will also include an eatery. The building will be located on the southeast corner of the lot and its parking lot will have 500 spaces
Stewart started Tai Pan Trading in 1980 as wholesale home decor distributor to businesses. In February 2005 he opened the wholesale business up to the public in a newly built retail building in Sandy.
Bruce McAllister, president of Tai Pan Trading, said he is thankful for support from the company's employees. That support, he said, makes the company's expansion possible.
"Without the employees we have right now, and the trust we feel we have with them, we really couldn't make this step," he said.
Stewart said the company hopes to open a third location in Orem in 2007. He said about half of Tai Pan Trading's customers come from outside the Salt Lake Valley.
"We know we have a large customer base up here and a high level of interest up here," he said of Davis County.
McAllister said customers come from as far away as Idaho and Wyoming to visit the Sandy location of Tai Pan Trading.
"We can service our customers much better by bringing this closer," he said, adding that the Davis County location is about 40 miles north of the Sandy location.