Owners of Comfort Zone sell business to long-time employee

They began building their business in May 1996 and poured a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into making it what it is today.

 But Doug and Gina Applegate, former owners of Comfort Zone Heating and Cooling, have begun a new chapter in their lives, recently selling their labor of love to long-time employee Daryn Young.

 Official ownership transitioned to Young Jan. 1, 2022. 

 “It’s been really different,” Gina said of not arriving at work every morning. “We are taking it slow and trying to figure out what we want to do next. We did take a trip in February after this all took effect, and we have a couple other things planned, but we spend a lot of time camping, so that’s what we will be doing this summer.”

 Gina, however, is also considering new opportunities that have surfaced in the short time since leaving Comfort Zone. She has had multiple employment offers since leaving the business behind and Doug is currently helping coach the track team at Weiser High School.

 Young was born and raised in Weiser, graduating from Weiser High School in 1997. He began working for Doug and Gina in 1999. Starting his career as an install specialist he grew with the company and has been the general manager for the last six years.   

 “I’ve worked for them for 23 years and just kind of worked up the ranks,” he said. “When we started, there was just four of us. Now, with our high school students and a couple new hires, we have 19 employees. We’ve grown this little business into a pretty good employer for the town. We just want to do good, honest work and be here for people.”

 Comfort Zone has a history of bringing in students who participate in Idaho’s Student To Registered Apprenticeship Program (STRAP), which affords high school kids the opportunity to learn about specialized trades, working toward certifications and garnering real-world job experience, all while earning their high school diplomas.

 Weiser High graduate Kale Poyner is currently finishing his third year of the program at Comfort Zone, which recently brought on three more students this year. One of them is Young’s son, Devyn.

 Young said he has no plans to change anything about the business, which is just one reason Doug and Gina decided to sell to him.

 “We’ve been talking with Daryn about this for three or four years and knew it was the best way to go for the company, our employees, our customers, and everyone involved,” Gina said. “As things progressed, it was apparent Daryn was ready, so part of it was a timing thing.”

 Gina said she and Doug received several offers from other companies looking to buy them out but didn’t feel comfortable handing over an operation they built from the ground up to a large corporation.

 “We did have opportunities to sell; in the industry right now, there is a lot of overtaking of small businesses and we were approached several times, most recently last year, with some serious offers, but we felt it was best to keep it in the hands of someone local because you never know what those companies are going to do once they get hold of it.”

 According to Young, talks of a possible buyout actually began several years ago, indicating that Doug and Gina were already planning for a future that involved a local owner.

 “They worked really hard building this company up and building a good reputation, so they wanted it to stay that way, but back then it was just kind of a pipe dream; a lot of things can happen in that time, but as it got closer, we got more serious with our conversations,” Young explained. “They had opportunities; they could have sold it to some investment firm. They could have done that, but what usually happens is that they break these smaller businesses up and sell off the assets, but Doug and Gina wanted to keep this as their legacy and keep it local.”

 Gina added, “We feel confident that Daryn is going to take care of the employees and staff, and the customers, so it was the right thing all the way around.

 “It is hard letting go, but we are proud of what we did, and it still has some amazing places to go.”