Once rural general store gets new owner, image

Hillbilly Bills General Store has been the Rogersville area's neighborhood store for nearly 26 years, but it will soon be replaced by the 38,000-square-foot Deerfield General Store, owned by CRW Properties Inc.

Springfield-based CRW purchased Hillbilly Bills from John D. Crighton in November 2002 for an undisclosed amount.

CRW purchased the property at 1878 S. State Highway 125 as an investment, but the company realized there was greater potential in the market.

"We got to thinking there are a lot of professionals who live out in that area, who work in Springfield, who would like a lot of the same conveniences that Springfield offers," said Curtis Jared, vice president of operations for CRW Properties.

The property is just south of Greene County D (East Sunshine Street) on Highway 125.

The new store will be built behind the existing one, and upon completion, the original building will be demolished.

"Because the building had been added on to so many times it just didn't make any sense economically to try and salvage what was there. We knew we were going to have to develop something completely separate and start from scratch," Jared said.

Big changes

In addition to the general store, the Hillbilly Bills property includes a hay and lumber barn and metal storage units. The sale included 12.5 acres of land.

Phase I of construction includes a new 7,000-square-foot hay and lumber barn, which is expected to be complete in the next three to four weeks. During this time, CRW will replace the existing metal storage units with 50 concrete-block storage units. These replacements will provide better quality for customers and complement the appearance of the new store, Jared said.

During phase II, the company will construct the 38,000-square-foot retail store behind the current Hillbilly Bills location. The new building will be three times the size of the existing building and will be complete in late 2003 or early 2004. Bates and Associates Inc. is the architectural firm for the project. Harold Gray, owner of Missouri Supermarket Builders, is the general contractor.

Inside the building, space will be divided into a 12,000-square-foot grocery store, and a 10,000-square-foot Ace Hardware store. The remaining space will be used for sporting goods, lawn and garden, and feed products. On-site gas pumps also will be upgraded.

The name change to Deerfield General Store is important to the future of the business, Jared said.

"The store that's been here for 26 years served its purpose and the name was perfect. What we are doing is giving it a new image. To do that we really needed to change the name," Jared said.

Community impact

Hillbilly Bills, known well in the Rogersville community, was originally built by Bill Plaster, who sold the property in February 1986 to John D. Crighton, who formerly owned Crighton Supply. After owning Hillbilly Bills for16 years, Crighton decided to retire.

Since CRW owned property next to the store, Crighton decided to sell to his neighbors. Crighton said the changes were expected.

"I don't care who owns it, it won't be the same as the time before, and it will be different when (CRW) gets through with it," Crighton said.

In an effort to maintain a community-friendly environment, the new store will have a deli area and community room where local residents can gather and talk as they did before.

"We have a regular group of people that come in every morning. They're sometimes called the bucket brigade because they used to pull buckets of different things we sold off the shelf and sit on them and talk and drink their coffee. We've designed a room in the store just for those people and different organizations," Jared said.

"The design we are doing is going to have an urban, country look. It's going to help please the rural people and the suburbanites that live out there."

To help support local farmers, the store plans to sell local dairy, egg and pork products.

An expansive product line will be added to help keep business local, Jared said.

"You're going to find basically just about anything you're looking for in a grocery store. We are going to have a meat department, deli, bakery, everything else that a normal grocery store would have," Jared said. "We're going to be buying from wholesalers just the same as your larger grocery stores in town, so we will be competitive. With us being Ace Hardware, we will offer the same competitive price as Lowe's and Home Depot. It's just your true one-stop shop."

Deerfield also will be a licensed Stihl dealership and will provide rental tools and machinery.

Future plans

Once construction is completed, Jared said the company plans to hire at least 20 new employees, and maybe as many as 30.

Toward the end of phase II, CRW will replace the existing gas pumps with new pay-at-the pump dispensers. Hillbilly Bills is currently an unbranded gas station supplied by Jump Oil Company of Bolivar. In an effort to attract more customers, Jared said, a nationally known name may be added.

"I think there is a good possibility we'll end up going branded, and if we do we are probably looking at a Phillips 66."

A market analysis survey done by Ace Hardware shows strong market potential for the new store. The market includes all of Greene County east of Highway 65, including the towns of Rogersville, Strafford and Turners Station between Highway 60 and I-44; parts of northern Christian County and a small portion of western Webster County.

Between 1990 and 2001, population in the analysis area has grown by 42.7 percent from 14,502 to 20,698. The average annual income for the area grew by 98 percent, from $51,658 to $102,235, in that same time period.

Jared said these figures make Deerfield a site with many possibilities.

"The sky's the limit on this." Jared said.