C'ville Bites & Sights
Fall 2009, pg 77
Lush Farms Two city dwellers turned farmers; socially conscious and healthy food follows. The farm grows produce from heirloom seeds without the use of chemicals. Take the goods home from George Bowers Grocery, located just a quarter of a mile down the road.
[Note: We've closed Lush Farms for the season, but see you next Spring!]
Family Prepares Locally Grown Feast
The News Leader November 2009
Kelley [Flanders], who's hosting Thanksgiving at her home in Fishersville, bought a Polyface Farms turkey from George Bowers Grocery. She said her husband and a friend will provide venison and goose breast hunted on their property.
[...]
Buying local has a bigger significance for the women than a holiday scavenger hunt. Dana [Flanders], who owns Crown Jewelry on West Beverley Street, and Kelley, owner of Byer Street Housewares, think it's important to support the local economy whenever possible.
"It's not necessarily that someone I buy from will buy from me, but that money will stay in the community," Dana said.
What to Feed Your Vegan Guest on Thanksgiving
The News Leader November 2009
But Harris, whose Darjeeling Café on West Beverley Street in Staunton includes vegan and vegetarian fare on its menu, said it's easier than ever to cook for a holiday crowd that includes a vegan.
"It can be tricky," she said. "There are so many ingredients that you wouldn't think are made using animals, but they are. It takes a little research, but there are plenty of meat and dairy substitutes available around here, and they've come a long way in taste and texture."
[...] Harris said local stores such as Martin's, Kroger, Cranberry's Grocery & Eatery and George Bowers Grocery offer dairy and meat substitution products in varying degrees.
Fun Fall Getaways for Foodies
Northern Virginia Magazine September 2009
Don’t miss the historic Virginia town of Staunton’s celebration at the Frontier Culture Museum. While in town, you should also check out Cranberry’s Grocery and George Bowers Grocery which both sell local fresh goods, as well as the many Staunton restaurants that serve farm-to-fork fare...
A True Community
Once a fixer-upper, Staunton’s Newtown now shining light in Queen City
The New Dominion October 26, 2009
“It’s a neighborhood in transition, and in our experience neighborhoods in transition have a lot of opportunity for people to either build their personal life there, renovate a home, renovate an apartment or something, or conversely start a business that then becomes an anchor in the neighborhood. We sort of took both routes,” said Brian Wiedemann, who opened the George Bowers Grocery [...] last November and is engaged in an ongoing Newtown home renovation at the same time.
Local Lending
Flavor Magazine October/November 2009
Virginia Microenterprise Network...[B]rings together microenterprise and main street programs, community economic developers, organizations interested in eco-tourism and sustainable agriculture, and small business owners (like Staunton's George Bowers Grocery co-owner Brian Wiedemann, pictured here) from all of the state and Washington, D.C.
Kaine talks business in tour through downtown Staunton
The News Leader, October 1, 2009
Since Forbes Magazine named Virginia the Best State for Business last week, Gov. Tim Kaine has been traveling the state to visit with local business owners and talk about how they work.
On Thursday, the governor visited downtown Staunton to meet with the owners of several local businesses, including Mockingbird, Fretwell Bass and George Bowers Grocery.
Staunton's office of Economic Development hand-picked the businesses he would visit.
Note: we were really honored to meet and shake hands with Democratic Governor Tim Kaine. His efforts to fund microlending organizations like SCCF help make businesses like ours possible.
Read more
Augusta County Chamber of Commerce
Crossroads Business Magazine, Fall 2009
In "Q&A with Meghan Williamson, Staunton Creative Community Fund", page 24
PHOTO: George Bowers Grocery, located in Newtown in Staunton. Pictured is co-owner Brian Wiedemann, who owns the business with his wife Katie McCaskey. George Bowers Grocery is both a business planning graduate of the Staunton Creative Community Fund’s CORE FOUR Business Plan Development Course and an SCCF microloan recipient. In business since Fall 2008, they used their microloan to finance start-up costs.
Staunton Grant to Go to Start-Ups
WVIR - NBC Channel 29, September 8, 2009
Our grocery hosted the City of Staunton's announcement that funds are now available for small business start-ups. As micro-loan recipients last year we encourage our neighbors to apply. Click here to download the application.
Staunton is using a $200,000 state grant to create a new SPARC PLUG loan program for women, minority, and low-income entrepreneurs to start-up businesses in the city. [...]
Wiedemann believes the SPARC funds will open up new opportunities and storefronts for his Newtown neighbors."Newtown is a socio-economically diverse neighborhood, and I really firmly believe the businesses that operate here should reflect that," Wiedemann said.
Staunton Launches New Business Loan Program
Augusta Free Press, September 8, 2009
George Bowers Grocery, an independent grocery store located in the New Town neighborhood in Staunton, is a thriving example that small loans can have a big community impact. Since opening its doors with help from a Staunton Creative Community Fund loan in 2008, George Bowers Grocery has become a local destination that has helped two other small businesses in the region remain viable through additional sales outlets. Their “urban garden” in New Town is proof that business growth comes in many forms, emphasizing green development, local production, and community pride.
“We have been very fortunate to be able to work with the Staunton Creative Community Fund,” said Katie McCaskey, co-owner of George Bowers Grocery. “Probably more important than funding, SCCF has helped us network with other businesses that have similar needs and concerns and that is where the real learning happens,” she continued.
Business Owners Speak at MBC
WHSV - ABC Channel 3, February 12, 2009
The group talked about how they're making a profit in a historic community, while also leaving their mark. Staunton Creative Community Fund Founder Dr. Tony Smith explained the difficulty of getting a bank loan in the city if your a business, "Banks south of the Mason-Dixon line generally do not like to make loans to businesses, it's the highest risk area to make loans to, which is rather unfortunate because that's a source of job creation."
Not Just Another Grocery
Campus Comments, Mary Baldwin College, January 2009, by Sarah Anne Barrow
All of the foods there are local and, for the most part, organic with very reasonable prices. [...] I guarantee you'll have found your new grocery store for your time at Mary Baldwin.
A Fresh Approach
The News Leader, Staunton, November 24, 2008
Although some organic options will be available, McCaskey and her partners want the emphasis to be placed on local and practical, not to mention Bowers' original focus on all things staple and fancy.
Dry and bulk goods such as flour, sugar and whole oats will be sold along with jams, pasta sauce, breads and an assortment of pantry necessities. George Bowers also plans to offer soups, which can be served at the location's soup counter, take-away lunches from area restaurants, and a variety of locally produced goods.
'Staple Goods and Fancy Groceries'
The News Virginian, Waynesboro, November 22, 2008
With lines out the door and their one-room store “packed like a subway car,” the four collaborators who opened George Bowers Grocery in Staunton on Saturday were nothing but smiles, selling locally produced cheese and shelling out soup samples from the West Beverley Street address where a similar store stood 100 years before.
Staunton's Newtown: Making a Comeback
From NBC WVR-TV, Channel 29, Charlottesville, November 11, 2008
"A rehabbed Staunton neighborhood is changing again. First came the home renovations and the people moving back in. Now, businesses are coming back to historic Newtown.
George Bowers Grocery first opened in 1881. It will re-open later this month. Brian Wiedemann stocks the shelves at the grocery with private label and local fresh from the farm foods. He says the store will fill a need in Newtown for a grocer within walking distance of the blocks of restored homes in the neighborhood."
Remember when... downtown had a grocery store?
From The New Dominion Magazine, October 30, 2008:
“We’re throwing a wide net, basically letting everybody here in the neighborhood know, if you’re check to check, if you’re on Social Security, or if you spend five days a week in D.C. and come down here on the weekends, we’re going to have something for your needs. And save you a trip to Kroger or Martin’s. I hate to drive any more than I have to, and if you need one little grocery item, you can get it here,” Wiedemann said.
Small Business Leaders Unite for Training Program
From the Staunton News Leader, October 6, 2008:
[B]y talking with other business owners, participants have the ability to come up with new ideas together in addition to hearing tips and methods that have worked for others.
Read article.
Finding success on West Beverley
From the Staunton News Leader, October 6, 2008:
The list of new shops that recently joined McMullan includes the beauty and tanning salon Top Ten and West Side Grill, which opened its doors Wednesday. Also more growth is coming with the expected opening of George Bowers Grocery next month. It will be located on West Beverley, next to The Dirty Bean — another relatively new addition to the street.
Read article
Local Entrepreneurs Celebrate Business Training and Marriage of Ideas
(Press Release)
For information contact: Dr. Tony Smith, SCCF 540-213-0333
It’s not often that entrepreneurs in the business of books, a laundromat and expresso bar, locally raised food and soup counter, unique gifts and party favors, and tool repairs find common ground, much less finding reason to celebrate a shared accomplishment. On the other hand, it should hold no surprise, as Staunton enjoys a reputation as a creative community, in part due to the efforts of its local entrepreneurs, artists, educators and cultural centers, and the recently formed Staunton Creative Community Fund, Inc. (SCCF). [...]
Meet Katie McCaskey, Urban Escapee (and Soon-to-Be) Grocer
From Fresh Approach Coach (Roquebrun, France):
MG: Well there must be something in the water [in Staunton] that energizes you, because in addition to everything else you’re doing, you’re also now a partner in a new grocery store. I don’t get to meet many people who sign up for that sort of thing, so what’s the scoop?
Read article
George Bowers Grocery to Reopen
From WHSV.com (Channel 3):
The Staunton Creative Community Fund has helped the store financially, and it says the store is a perfect example of small business growth.
Executive Director Anthony Smith says, "They're creating an important anchor in a neighborhood that's going through revitalization. It's a service to the community. It's a service to local farmers."
New grocery store coming to Newtown district
Staunton News Leader, Sept. 3, 2008:
The store will be located next to The Dirty Bean espresso bar and will offer locally raised food, a delicatessen, dinner entrees to go, and a soup counter. Part of the store’s mission is to enable Staunton residents to obtain locally grown, nutritious food within walking distance.
George Bowers Grocery first opened in 1881. It will re-open later this month. Brian Weidemann stocks the shelves at the grocery with private label and local fresh from the farm foods. He says the store will fill a need in Newtown for a grocer within walking distance of the blocks of restored homes in the neighborhood.