The Rural Voice, 1980-05, Page 391
1
The "corner" store
The whole family is involved in making this grocery store
in Teeswater flourish.
BY GISELE IRELAND
Oatman's Superior Grocery Store in
Teeswater is what small family business is
all about. The whole family is involved.
This means long hours for both Doug and
Pauline Oatman, with the children helping
after school or week ends when they aren't
involved in other activities. Doug came to
Teeswater a little over a year ago from
Montreal where he was in the "rat race."
He and Pauline both enjoy the slower
pace that a town of 1000 people offers. The
whole Oatman family is involved in
community efforts getting to know people
and enjoying themselves at the same time.
Both are very outgoing and friendly and
their smiles are infectious.
The business itself serves the town of
Teeswater plus surrounding farm pop-
ulace. They are still one of the few
independent grocers left who offer a
charge system. (Makes it handy when your
cheque only comes in once a month.)
Surprisingly few people abuse this
system, for which Doug is thankful because
he has to pay for stock upon delivery. The
volume of the store's business doesn't
allow him to seduce you with loss leaders,
but on the other hand, his specials are
items that people use every week. The
Oatmans even go so far as to tell you not to
buy a certain item this week, that next
week he is getting it on special. If you want
a large quantity of the special offered they
are only too happy to see that you get it.
The service is personal, which is unique in
this kind of business today.
The busiest days are usually Thursdays
and Fridays and Gladys Stewart who works
full time keeps everything organized.
Gladys has seen this business through
three previous owners and if she doesn't
know a person who has come in you can bet
that it is their first trip to the store and that
before he or she gets their groceries
carried to the car, Gladys will have made
their acquaintance.
I he pnystcal aspect of running this
business is complex. You have to know how
much of something to order and where the
best price is. Being independent gives the
Oatmans the option of shopping around for
the best buys for their customers.
Doug and Pauline Oatman at their grocery store in Teeswater.
They find that being independent gives them a chance to shop
around to the benefit of their custort,?rs. (Photo by Ireland)
The best buys are sometimes very close
at hand. Some zealous gardener has a
bumper crop of potatoes and wants to sell a
few. Doug will buy them. Doug buys his
apples and fresh apple butter locally and
bags them himself. He also gets
houseplants and bedding plants from a
greenhouse right in Teeswater. He feels
that keeping the business circulating
locally is the way everyone profits. Some
items have to be bought from suppliers and
if they are dated for use before a certain
date he has to be careful to rotate his stock
accordingly.
Kraft Foods now date everything from
cheese and dips to bottled items like salad
dressing and jam. Kraft also a non -return
policy on outdated stock which makes it
imperative that the store owner doesn't
overstock and keeps his supply current.
Small grocery stores like Oatman's serve
the community is several ways. They are
handy to drop into if you happen to run out
of something. If you are sending y»nr
uusband to town tor something you ne..u,
just phone them and they'll have it ready
for him by the time that he gets there.
They deliver groceries around town
which is a boon for the elderly. Just phone
in the list and you get them delivered right
to your door. The larger grocery plazas that
are springing up with alarming frequency,
still take considerable time and gas to get
to, and for that reason alone are not as
handy in a rural community.
The service is enough to make customers
hope that small businesses don't have to
,,,ove out to make way for ' i'igger and
better."
If you talk to the people that are served
by these kinds of businesses they will
agree that bigger is certainly not always
better.
THE HuHAL VOICE/MAY 1980PG. 37