CRW Properties carries legacy in new direction

Jared married Wheeler’s daughter, Linda, and helped his father-in-law build the family’s business, taking the reigns in 1997 when Wheeler passed away.

The family, under the banner of CRW Properties, owns five Cody’s convenience stores, two of which are still under construction, in Springfield, Rogersville and Hollister. Those are just a few of CRW Properties’ 32 commercial developments, 12 residential developments and six vacant parcels of land. But the company grew from meager beginnings – a Red Front Store corner grocery in Eureka Springs, Ark.

After operating two different small outlets, Wheeler opened Consumers in Springfield. The supermarket chain reached 38-store status in four states at its pinnacle, eventually giving way to CRW Properties, a real estate development corporation with numerous entities.

“I think that one of the things that has been important, even when the business got large under the Consumers banner, we haven’t viewed it as being a large corporation,” Jerry Jared said. “We didn’t look at everything collectively, but took a personal interest in every property. That’s the big difference in a family-run business.”

In 1990, Fleming Wholesale Foods and Merrill Lynch Capital Partners bought Consumers from Wheeler, who in turn repurchased about half of the Consumers properties and leased the use of the supermarkets to Fleming (which bought out Merrill Lynch’s ownership of Consumers).

However, Consumers would eventually die under Fleming’s ownership, with the last store closing in 1999.

Jerry Jared said Fleming had internal operations problems that led to the demise of several chains it owned, including Consumers.

“Clarence spent most of his life, and I spent most of my business life, building the stores up,” Jerry Jared said. “It was very sad to see it go.”

Diversification

Luckily for the family business, Jerry Jared felt the need to diversify CRW Properties’ holdings in 1998, and got Fleming to buy out its leases.

Free to invest wherever they wanted, the Jareds started developing convenience stores, office buildings and retail strip centers.

“Basically, all CRW was composed of was supermarket properties with one lessee,” Jerry Jared said. “It was kind of the putting your eggs in one basket situation. I thought it would be good to diversify.”

Now 63, Jerry Jared runs CRW Properties Inc. with two other family members who weren’t even alive at the inception of their family’s business – his 28-year-old daughter, Cindy Jared-Smith, and 27-year-old son, Curtis Jared.

“It’s something I love to do,” said Curtis Jared about being part of his family’s business, “so it doesn’t feel like work.

“It’s my family’s company, and I take more pride in it.”

Jerry Jared said he and his children complement each other in running the business, since each of the three has unique strengths and weaknesses.

“We’re a close family to begin with,” Jerry Jared said, “and having the business just solidifies that.”

The family refers to all of its businesses as CRW Properties, but CRW Properties is actually one of three equal corporations, along with Wheeler Enterprises and OGS Properties. Jerry Jared is the president for all three corporations, just like Curtis Jared is vice president of development and retail operations and Jared-Smith is vice president of administration for all three. There are also four limited liability companies under the three corporations.

Jerry Jared stresses quality over quantity in CRW Properties’ acquisition of assets, though he declined to disclose the value of the company’s portfolio.

“We’re taking opportunity as it presents itself,” he said. “We’re not trying to be the biggest. Just whatever makes sense.”

Curtis Jared and Jared-Smith have three siblings not involved with daily operations, though all live in the Springfield area.

Jared-Smith has worked for CRW Properties since graduating from Drury University in 1999. She doesn’t have any children yet, but if she eventually does, she said she would be proud to have them continue her family’s business legacy.

“I wouldn’t put any pressure on them to (be involved in the company), but it would be nice to keep it in the family,” she said, “and have it passed through the generations.”

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