Do you have any gas caps like this one?


The stocky, young man held up a weathered-looking piece of aluminum between two soiled fingers as he asked the question, then waited patiently for an answer.


Margaret Rudisile, 74-year-old owner of Best Buy Surplus, at 2516 E. Sprague, frowned doubtfully as she studied the object, but directed an employee to guide the man to an area of the store to begin his search.


Such scenarios doubtless have played out thousands of times during the 56-year history of the small, but well-known business, which has built up a loyal clientele because of its diverse and sometimes offbeat inventory mix.


Were not a fancy store, but our prices are good. Thats why our roof leaks, Rudisile quips with a smile.


Best Buy Surplus is a cross between a sporting-goods store, an army-surplus store, a hardware store, and a work-clothing store, with interesting odds and ends scattered through its shelves that dont fit well into any of those categories.


Its a Nordstroms for men, Rudisile says jokingly, referring to its male-oriented feel. She claims, though, that the store also now attracts a lot more female customers than it did in years past.


It was called the Trading Spot back in 1945, when her husband, Frank, who died about a year and a half ago, opened it with two other men. At the end of World War II, There was an opportunity to buy military surplus, and everybody was out of stuff, which led to the business enterprise, she says.


Rudisile says she didnt meet her husband, who went by the nickname Red because of his red hair, until about two years later, when she started doing bookkeeping for the store. The two were married in 1949, and around that same time, she and her husband became sole owners of the business.


The store didnt generate a lot of revenue in its early years, Rudisile says, so her husband continued to work a separate job as a wholesale-route dairy truck driver, and she did accounting work for a drilling company. The business grew gradually over the years, but, You always had to work in it, she says, adding proudly that the couples four children all worked there while growing up.


We had more surplus in the beginning, but began to diversify as the federal government tightened controls over the sale of military surplus items, Rudisile says. Her husband was an avid outdoorsman, so it was natural that he chose to expand into hunting, fishing, and camping gear, she says.


Although he died in late 1999 at age 93, and suffered from the ravages of Alzheimers disease for years before that, the store still reflects his personality, and we intend to keep it that way. People are used to us, Rudisile says.


A photo that shows her husband standing on a dock at Spirit Lake, smiling and holding a fishing rod, hangs directly above the front door inside the store, and is surrounded by six mounted antler racks from deer he shot.


Sporting goods now appear to represent the largest portion of the stores inventory, ranging from rods, reels, hooks, line, lures, bobbers, and waders, to lanterns, back packs, tents, tarps, outdoor cookware, oars, live bait, and knives.


Sure to catch childrens attention, inflatable pool and beach toys such as a large blow-up alligator ($10.95) and a brightly colored beach ball ($3.95) dangle from the ceiling.


Kids love this place, says Rudisile, who claims that the store now is on its fourth generation of customers.


For military surplus buffs, there are dog tags ($1.39), old Army helmets ($5), dummy grenades ($5.75), ammo cans ($5.95), and 50-millimeter Navy training shells ($29.95), plus lots of used military uniforms and camouflage clothing.


Because of the myriad displays of all typesoccupying seemingly every inch of wall and shelf spaceand a lack of recognizable organization to the multitude of merchandise, the store seems a bit like a labyrinth. Turn one corner, and theres a large standing display of sunglasses. Turn another, and theres a display table full of buckles, snaps, and rings, or a massive antique scale ($425).


Adding to the eclectic feeland timeless charmof the place is the impression that little has been done over the last half-century to update the two-story building that houses the store. Outside, the stores massive vertical neon sign is peeling, and the storefront is fading. Inside, the floors are worn, from the countless customers, and Rudisile estimates that the long, U-shaped glass cashiers counter near the front of the store could be as much as 100 years old.


She says she owns the building, an adjoining parking lot to the east, and a couple of uninhabitable homes behind the store that she uses for storage and hopes to replace at some point with new storage space. The store currently has three full-time employees, and also has been employing a student part time, in addition to her, she says.


An influx of large mass merchandisers into the Spokane area in recent years has raised the level of competition that Best Buy Surplus faces in some inventory areas, such as sporting goods, but Rudisile claims the store has been affected more by economic sluggishness.


One might think, given Rudisiles age and the physically demanding nature of retail work, that she might be having thoughts of closing or selling the store so she can turn her attention to more leisurely pursuits.She insists, though, that she still enjoys what shes doing and has no plans to retire.


I figure Ive got another good 20 years, she says.