Thatcher Pool to make a splash with a second Rochester showroom

ROCHESTER — Despite the remaining snow piles, Minnesota’s summer is coming … eventually.

A long-time Med City business — Thatcher Pool & Spas — will dive into the warm season by doubling its footprint in Rochester.

Thatcher Pools, founded by Dick and Ellie Thatcher in 1967, is working on a second showroom location at 3038 Jeremiah Lane in northwest Rochester as a sibling to its complex at 25 Wood Lake Drive S.E.

Thatcher’s north location will occupy two floors of a segment of a L-shaped commercial complex under construction on the cul-de-sac at the end of Jeremiah Lane. It is located across 19th Street Northwest from the Rochester Athletic Center and behind the Rochester Plumbers and Pipefitters Local #6 building.

“That whole segment of the building will be ours. We'll have a showroom on the ground floor where we will greet customers and have the new hot tubs and spas on display,” said Thatcher Marketing Manager Taylor Miles. “The upstairs portion will serve as office space.”

Other tenants, such as the Credence Apex gym, are committed to the main segment of the complex.

“We hope to be in there sometime in May, if not sooner,” said Miles.

When the Thatcher south location opens, the plan is to introduce a new brand of hot tubs to the market. The details of that addition to Thatcher’s offerings are still being finalized, according to Miles.

Jeff Kiger / Post Bulletin

This new location will boost Thatcher’s visibility and accessibility in Rochester. The family-owned business moved out of its original spot in a residential neighborhood and into its current showroom at 25 Wood Lake Drive SE in 2013.

While it will create more space to display more of Thatcher’s pool, spa and hot tub offerings, this new location will need a larger team to staff it.

“We are growing our staff. We're currently working on a big hiring push right now. Summer is a lot closer than you think despite the cold out there. We're working on getting our summer staff numbers back up, plus we are hiring a few more salespeople,” said Miles. “We’re also looking for a new general manager to help run both stores and take a little bit of the load off the owners. We're also looking for a lot of new people for our installation teams. We had a lot of business last year and that's fantastic, but we're running out of people to send out to a job.”