“If you understand who your customers are and who is paying the bills, you gain
a lot of respect for those who choose your business over a larger chain store.” Joe Coy, owner of Roy’s Cardinal Foods in Wilburton, Okla.
the population of Beggs, Okla., is no more than 1,500. Although a Wal-Mart Supercenter is not far down the road, Smith is determined to stay in the small town and serve his loyal customers who are his friends.
“I still enjoy it. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t come down here to the store every day,” he says. “Owning this business gives me a lot of independence to connect with customers.” When Smith’s father and brother fi rst opened the store in 1960, there were 11 similar grocers in Beggs. Today, he is the last remaining grocer in town, offering a complete line of groceries, fresh produce and a full-service meat counter. With “God Bless America” painted on the store’s big front windows, Beggs General
After managing their own meat packing com-
East Central Oklahoma Electric Cooperative member Bill Byars shops for Pink Lady apples in the produce aisle of Beggs General Store in Beggs, Okla. Photo by Gail Banzet-Ellis
Store is the epitome of a small town business carrying a little of everything such as plumbing tools, home improvement supplies and even livestock feed. “Customers can come in and get their 100 pounds of feed to get them through the weekend,” he says. “We’re trying to save them the 30-minute drive into nearby larger towns.” From ice cream salt to just about every fl avor of Betty Crocker cake mix, Smith takes pride in offering the more unique items, despite his store’s smaller square footage. Customers enjoy the convenience, but it’s not always easy for Smith and his 14 employees to contend with corporate chains. “We have a hard time competing on price, wages, benefi ts—everything,” he
says. “You won’t fi nd any rollback price tags in here. My prices are already rolled back to the lowest I can get.” To compete with larger, neighboring stores, Smith has added new features over the years such as a Simple Simon’s pizza counter and gasoline pumps. His daughter, Angelia, has helped him manage the store for 12 years, and he hopes some of his family will take on the business when he decides to retire. “We need stores like this. We serve a lot of older folks in the community, and it’s a good education for younger people looking to work their fi rst job,” he says. Much like Beggs and other small towns, Waynoka, Okla., is home to an older population that often cannot make the longer drive to a larger store. Tucked away off western Oklahoma’s Cimarron Turnpike, the town of Waynoka plays host to another favorite local grocer, Hutch’s Country Market. Owned by husband and wife Larry and Linda Hutchison, it is the latest venture for a family steeped in entrepreneurial history. Larry’s grandparents opened their fi rst store on Waynoka’s Main Street in 1926—a meat market that sold fl our, sugar, potatoes and other basic items. Years later, the Hutchison family intro- duced several other food markets around town, but they eventually would all close.
pany for 28 years in Waynoka, Larry and Linda decided to sell the business and invest in the town’s one remaining grocery store that was on the brink of closure. In 2002, they purchased their current storefront and began the painstaking pro- cess of a full renovation. “We gutted it and put in all new refrigerators and coolers,” Larry says. “It took us about three months, but we knew we were needed here.” A half hour from northwest Oklahoma’s larger communities of Alva and Woodward, Waynoka is located in what Linda describes as the “heart of nowhere.” However, Hutch’s Country Market serves a tourist crowd that visits year-round for the area’s sand dune motorsports. Without this niche market, Linda says it would be hard to survive. “We try to keep a variety of things for the ‘dun- ers,’” she says. “We’ve got a large meat counter, we
make a lot of our own products, and we cater for groups.” With their previous business experience, Larry and Linda are able to con- tinue making many of their original products including beef jerky, brisket, ribs, ham-baked beans, summer sausage, hot links and barbeque sauces—all of which are hot ticket items for all terrain vehicle enthusiasts who enjoy camping just outside of town every weekend. “We meet a lot of interesting people from all over the world,” Linda says. But even with the steady business of a year-round tourist population, Larry and Linda face their share of challenges. Outfi tted in aprons and sneakers, they each devote around 70 hours a week to the store, working alongside their seven employees to stock shelves and manage orders. Larry says it’s been diffi cult fi nding food distributors who will accommodate the store’s remote location. “It’s been hard to fi nd companies that will deliver to Waynoka since we’re so far out,” Larry says. “We have to order from an affi liated warehouse because no one considers us big enough for a delivery.” Larry and Linda chuckle when customers are shocked to fi nd the store’s two
checkout lanes contain only cash registers without scanners. In what they de- scribe as “pretty old school,” the store’s hometown charm and character keep locals and tourists coming back on almost a daily basis. Country radio plays over the store’s speakers as customers roam the aisles
of Hutch’s Country Market on a lazy Saturday morning. Tim Baker is shopping for ingredients he will use in a café he recently opened down the street. “You can’t beat the friendly service, and I like the fact that we know every- body in here,” he says with a grin. “Oh, and they’ve got the best quality meat around as far as I’m concerned.” With three children and six grandchildren, Larry and Linda sometimes fl irt with the idea of retirement to devote more time to family, friends and hobbies. The long hours are demanding, but they care about the community too much to throw in the towel.
NOVEMBER 2013
15
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