THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 30, 1996 TAG: 9605250210
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Business
SOURCE: BY SCOTT McCASKEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 103 lines
THE STORE WAS a neighborhood fixture for more than four decades until it closed a year and half ago.
But this familiar mom-and-pop grocery is soon to be back in business.
Bazemore's Friendly Market is scheduled to reopen at its old spot at 6412 Hampton Blvd. in early June.
Although the 5,400-square-foot-site has been completely refurbished, the new owners plan to make the store much like the former grocery that served generations of westside Norfolkians.
``We've renovated everything, but we want to create an old-fashioned atmosphere of personalized customer service,'' said owner Reed Dail, who will operate Bazemore's with his wife Erin. ``The focus is to be a neighborhood store as opposed to one for the masses. We'll be taking care of area residents, trying to meet their needs and wants.''
The market will offer a mainstay of fresh beef - the former store was known for having quality meats - along with fresh seafood and produce, gourmet items and deli fare. The owners are making a special effort to offer as many Virginia products as possible.
Home delivery of groceries and meals will be direct throwbacks to the store's business practices of the past, policies that helped it live up to its title as a ``Friendly Market.'' John Goodman, the delivery driver for more than 20 years, will be back in his truck.
Former Bazemore's shoppers say they are looking forward to the reopening.
``I used to shop there all the time,'' Larchmont resident Susan Wood said. ``It was very convenient. John Goodman was great.''
Virginia Webb, an Edgewater resident, used the delivery service for years.
``They'd have a different meal each day,'' said Webb, an 86-year-old widow. ``I'd call my list in, and the delivery man would bring it and take my check. I'm very excited.''
The store originally was scheduled to open in February, but extensive renovations, a leaky roof and slow shipments of materials have delayed the opening.
``This is typical - you have a target date and then have to add three months to it,'' Dail said.
The work is nearly finished, except for a few last-minute details. There are a new ceiling and floor, skylight, all new equipment, an expanded kitchen and fresh coats of paint.
Bazemore's rejuvenation is being backed by silent majority partners Charles and Margaret Falkiner, who live in Larchmont. Margaret Falkiner has long been a loyal customer of the store and wanted to keep the name.
``The entire reason we wanted to get involved is because I miss Bazemore's,'' she said. ``We know nothing of the grocery business. The Dails are doing this.''
The Falkiners took on their partners because of the Dails' experience in the food-service business. Thomas Dail Sr. started a wholesale fish market during the early 1980s in the Gene Walters' Marketplace complex on West 21st Street. After that site was closed five years ago, Reed and Erin opened Loaves and Fishes By Dail's at 339 W. 21st St., a restaurant, retail store and catering service under one roof.
Reed and Erin will manage Bazemore's and their restaurant in alternating shifts. The duo has hired an assistant manager and several department heads to help run the market.
``We definitely will have a strong support staff,'' Erin said.
In a time when many mom-and-pop establishments are being squeezed out by the bigger, high-volume-buying supermarket chains, the owners said Bazemore's customer service and convenience will give them an advantage.
``When you're a grocery store in an area dominated by Food Lion and Farm Fresh, you must have some sort of edge,'' Reed Dail explained. ``Ours is attention to the customer. We'll be able to respond to customer needs in a much quicker manner than a large chain.''
In an effort to target patrons' wants, in January the Falkiners mailed out 800 questionnaires to determine product preferences of residents. More than 200 have been completed and returned.
``We don't have space to carry everything, so we wanted to see what people like, especially the brand names,'' Margaret Falkiner said.
Eager customers have been peering inside and knocking at Bazemore's doors for the last couple of months. But the owners said they want to get everything ``just right'' before they open. Inside and out, more than 40 years have taken their toll on the building.
Bazemore's was started on the same site in the early 1950s by Mr. and Mrs. T.N. Bazemore. Joe McPhillips purchased the business and surrounding property in 1963. He ran a thriving store until he retired in 1988.
``I kept it pretty much the same when I bought it,'' said McPhillips, a Norfolk resident. ``Good merchandise, good community relations, we always did a good business. We were known for the best freshly cut beef in Tidewater.''
McPhillips, now 72, retained the property but sold the business to his nephew, Terry Falls, in 1988. Falls said the operation was just ``too much for one person to control'' and sold it to the Patel family in 1990. The Patel family sold the market in 1993 to Larry Green, who ran the store until he closed it in early 1995.
The Falkiners bought Bazemore's in September, and with it, the property running along Hampton Boulevard from Bedford Avenue to the north side of Lexan Avenue. The couple eventually may open a commercial site or professional office space where the former One Stop convenience store stood on Lexan Avenue.
Meanwhile, hiring signs are on the windows at Bazemore's. Inside, the shelves are being stocked with merchandise.
``I've been waiting for a couple of months, but I'm still very enthusiastic about the store opening back up,'' Webb said. ``We need this back in the neighborhood.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JIM WALKER
When Bazemore's reopens, the focus will be on customer service. by CNB