Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 7, 1994 TAG: 9404070166
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-14 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: NANCY GLEINER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Inside is a merging of the goodness of the old-fashioned corner grocery with the '90s emphasis on one-stop convenience. Two handmade wooden benches beckon customers to "set awhile," and they often do. Homemade biscuits and ham sandwiches are cooked to order. And you can catch up on local news firsthand while you're waiting.
Aside from a cup of coffee items run the gamut from fresh produce to chain saw oil to wine to animal feed to kerosene.
It's a short walk from the squeaky wooden door to the lottery ticket dispenser, but that walk covers a lot of territory.
When Randy and Bill Conner bought the business 11 years ago, it was a homecoming. After growing up "just back up in there," Randy Conner said, as he pointed uphill behind the store, the brothers joined their dad in long-distance hauling. With a growing family and deregulation in the trucking industry cutting into profits, Randy, in particular, wanted to work for himself and be closer to home.
Improvements to the 60- to 70-year-old building are all but invisible. "It was in pretty bad shape when we bought it," Conner said, "but a lot of what we've done, you can't see."
What hasn't changed is the flavor of the store, complete with wood shelving and floors, jars of penny candy (nickel candy now) and the friendly "hello" with which Conner greets the steady flow of customers.
Patrons wait patiently, chatting with old friends and new acquaintances, while Conner operates the cash register, restocks the coffee maker, mans the grill, answers the telephone, carries out heavy bags for a customer, signs a delivery invoice and resets the gas pumps.
With only two part-time employees who help tend the store, the brothers serve as jacks-of-all-trades - filling orders, repairing equipment, doing paperwork, even sweeping the floors - in addition to spending 60-plus hours running Countryway. The store opens at 6 a.m. and closes at 9 p.m. six days a week; Sundays it opens at 8 a.m. and closes at 6 p.m.
Wedged between Bent Mountain Road and Back Creek, there is no room for expansion. Randy Conner is content with the success of the business, though, which has grown steadily every year.
"I make a good living," he said, good enough to support his wife, Debbie, their five children, and his brother Bill, who is single.
The bulk of the business is gas and cigarettes, Conner said. He also has a large breakfast and lunch clientele.
As the only store on the busy stretch of road from the top of Bent Mountain to Wilco at Cave Spring Corners, a drive of 11 miles, Conner thinks there is enough business to satisfy everyone. Two stores along the road closed within the past year, and another burned.
Although Wilco may provide some competition, Conner does not think it has cut into his business at all. "This is a growing area," he said. "I think if another store opened up down the road, it wouldn't hurt us."
Many of his customers come from the northern end of Floyd County. Some are commuters; others just come down to visit.
With a majority of his customers local people, the store also serves as a community information center. People come in to check on the news, call to check road conditions during storms, and ask where Appalachian Power Co. is working during power outages, Conner said.
Conner obviously enjoys not only the people he grew up with here, but also the changing mix of people who frequent the store. "I love coming down here," he said, "and being a part of the community. It wouldn't be as much fun doing this somewhere else."
In what spare time he has, Conner coaches one sport each season for local recreational leagues. Ideally, he would like to work normal hours and play golf more than the five times he did last year.
He would like Countryway to stay as it is, maintaining its steady increase. But that is uncertain. Plans to widen Bent Mountain Road may force sale of the store.
"If that happens, I'll just do something else," he said. If the road comes, it comes."
Countryway General Merchandise, 6958 Bent Mountain Road, Roanoke, 989-7035.
by CNB