More than four decades after his parents opened The Electrical & Plumbing Store, Jim Sourges is carrying an Ottawa family business into its third generation and a new chapter of growth.
Photography by Nicolai Gregory
For Jim Sourges, The Electrical & Plumbing Store has never simply been a place of work. It is the business he grew up in.
The story began in 1980, when Sourges’ father, a master electrician who operated Ottawa Valley Electric, saw an opportunity to move into retail. His mother handled purchasing and administration, and before long, their son was spending Saturdays at the store alongside them. Sourges was just 12 when he began learning the business from the inside.
After earning an economics degree from Princeton University, Sourges ultimately chose to come home and continue what his parents had started. More than three decades later, he leads a business that has grown to two Ottawa locations, at 1080 Ogilvie Road and 31 Northside Road in Bells Corners, with his son Nick now following the same path into the family business.
“I grew up in the business and have never done anything else,” says Sourges. “My son, who will be the third generation in the business, got involved the same way.”
Today, the EP Store, as it is commonly known, serves everyone from contractors and renovators to homeowners taking on projects of their own. Its showrooms bring plumbing, lighting, flooring and renovation services under one roof, something Sourges says can still catch first-time customers off guard.
“The huge assortment of products we sell and services that we offer” is often the biggest surprise, he says.
That assortment is about to get even bigger.
The company has been expanding its Bells Corners operation, adding 2,000 square feet of showroom space along with another 2,000 square feet dedicated to receiving and warehousing. The project significantly increases the footprint of a location that has become an important part of the EP Store’s Ottawa business.
For a company that began as a family-run electrical business more than 45 years ago, the expansion is another step in an evolution that has been happening for decades.
Through big-box competition, online retail and changing trends in how Ottawa homeowners renovate, Sourges has remained focused on the principles his parents established. His advice to someone trying to build a business in Ottawa today sounds remarkably similar.
“Your best chance for long-term success is to be an expert in whatever you do and make sure you provide the best service and value to all of your customers every time.”
Sourges has particular respect for other independent Ottawa businesses that have managed to do the same. He points to The Butchery in Bells Corners and SuzyQ Doughnuts as examples of local companies that have built loyal followings while competing with much larger national players.
“I admire any private business that has, through hard work and determination, succeeded in competing against large national chains,” he says.
It’s a challenge Sourges understands firsthand. The EP Store has spent more than four decades establishing a place in Ottawa by offering something difficult to replicate at scale: extensive product knowledge, selection and service from people who have spent their careers learning the industry.
Even Sourges’ favourite restaurants follow a similar formula. His family’s first choice is Al’s Steakhouse, with Cabotto’s earning an honourable mention. “I’ve never had a bad meal at either place and the service is always exceptional,” he says.
That emphasis on service runs through Sourges’ own approach to business. The products and showrooms have changed considerably since he first accompanied his parents to work as a child. The company has expanded, renovation services have become a larger part of the operation and another generation is learning the business.
But the principle behind it has remained remarkably consistent: know what you do, do it well and give people a reason to come back.
Now, with a larger showroom and a third generation coming up behind him, Sourges is making sure the business his parents started in 1980 has plenty of room for what comes next.