Chesterfield's older businesses are old friends
By Susan Nienow CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Editor's note: The following is Part 2 of a twopart series on Chesterfield's older businesses. To read Part 1, visit www.chesterfieldobserver. com, click on "news archive" and then click on the link for the Oct. 4 issue.

Pharmacist Angela Dyer mixes a prescription for a customer. Buford Road Pharmacy is one of the area's few remaining compounding pharmacies.

They were the mainstays of Chesterfield County's business community long before Wal-Mart, Eckerd, CVS and even Ukrop's arrived. Considered neighbors by their customers, the following are just a sample of older businesses in Chesterfield that have contributed to the county's growth, feeling of community and history.

Buford Road Pharmacy

Although founded as a pharmacy in 1956, today's Buford Road Pharmacy is much more than that. The sign across the top of the business promises everything from cosmetics and greeting cards to home health care aids and health screenings.

Customers can drop off their prescriptions and then stroll through the pharmacy's gift department for seasonal table decorations, a hostess gift or even a lamp or small piece of furniture. They can even buy fresh flowers or a silk arrangement.

Peyton Allison grabs a sweet treat from Crump's Store's old-fashioned candy jars.

The compounding pharmacy is in the back of the store along with business services like Western Union and post office boxes, and the home health care products. The home health care department has a busy rental business, providing wheelchairs and hospital beds to those who need them temporarily.

The pharmacy was once located across the street where Bank of America is now, explained David Williams, general manager and pharmacist. The old store had a lunch counter, and this location once sold groceries.

Owned by Ron Davis, Buford Road Pharmacy is truly a family business. Davis' wife Pat works in the pharmacy's office, and his daughter Paige, who works as the floor manager and gift buyer, is married to Williams. His mother Julia does the customer billing.

When asked about competition from chain drug stores, Williams said that when CVS moved right across the street, it didn't affect business at all. "The gifts have made the difference," he said.

Built in 1760, the Half-Way House is now home to a popular restaurant.

Crump's Store

It wouldn't look out of place to see a horse and buggy sitting in front of Crump's Store at the corner of Beach and Winterpock roads - except the roads are paved. The general store opened in 1925 on a dirt road before electricity came to the area and hasn't changed much visually since then.

Suzanne Crump Rudd's great grandfather, Julian Crump, built the store, and the family lived in the back part of the building. Her father and her uncle were born there, and Suzanne is the fourth generation to work in the store. Her mother, Ella Lee Crump, works part-time in the same building she moved to as a bride in 1948.

A portico once covered the gas pumps and the front door, both of which are now on the side of the building. When Suzanne and her husband Donald took over the store in 1994, they found a building "about ready to fall down." They tore off the back of the building and rebuilt it, providing the store with a new kitchen and storage. They replaced the plumbing and wiring and made structural improvements, but kept the old wooden floor.

The wood floor is uneven from years of wear, and the blue paint is worn away where traffic is heavy. Oil lamps on the wall have been converted to electric. A large metal Bakers Economalt sign and a Pillsbury's 100-lb. burlap flour sack hanging on one wall are reminders of the country store's long history.

Looking at the many products lining the shelves at Crump's is like stepping into a snapshot of cultural diversity. Over the shelf of duct tape is a rack of Mexican snacks: "Pepitas con sal," "Pina con chile," and "Plantonos con chile," or, salted pumpkin seeds, chili pineapple and chili bananas. Across the aisle, customers can buy a bottle of Starbucks Frappuccino.

Crump's sells breakfast biscuits, corn dogs and pizza, all made in the kitchen in the back of the store, and sold as takeout. A constant stream of customers comes and goes, most with food, though it is long past lunchtime.

The store now has 12 employees and is open seven days a week.

Half-Way House

The Half-Way House on Jefferson Davis Highway has been in continuous use, mostly as a public inn and restaurant, since it was constructed in 1760.

It was built on a grant of land from English King George II as a horse change and rest stop for the Petersburg stage coach midway between Richmond and Petersburg.

During the Revolutionary War until the late 19th century, the Half-Way House was a place to stop to rest and get something to eat and drink.

The building is now home to a well-known restaurant owned by Rick and Sue Young for the last 22 years.

The Half-Way House has served a number of important figures through the years including Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Patrick Henry, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant and poet James Whitcomb Riley.

When the original owner, William Hatcher, died in 1835, the inventory of his possessions listed a well-furnished tavern, a barroom, ballroom and dining room with lodging rooms on the third floor.

The 20th century owners included the Tennants, who kept the house open privately during Prohibition, the Benders and the Youngs.

Today, the building is still furnished in period antiques, and the only changes have been structural, said Rick Young.

Young has long appreciated Virginia's colonial history as he is from New England, "where the people think they are the founders of our nation. We [in Virginia] don't embrace [our colonial history] like they do in other places," he concluded.

"The past is part of the future," he continued. "We're all about history. The role that the restaurant plays in the community is part of that."