Where Clients often are friends
March 24, 2006 (Joan Tupponce, Richmond Times Dispatch)
Cathy Waldrop not only knows her customers at Cross Bros. Inc. by name, she knows what day of the week they shop for groceries.
"If they don't show up on the day they normally come in," she said, "we call them to see if they are all right."
The neighborhood grocer has been in business in Ashland since 1912 - Waldrop and members of her family bought the store in 1973.
Residents frequent the store because of its personalized service - store employees deliver groceries to customers' homes and maintain store-based charge accounts for regulars.
"Often, when we deliver groceries, we even put them away for the customer," Waldrop said.
Ashland houses 524 licensed businesses that range from multigenerational companies such as Cross Bros. to a college, hotels and restaurants; from well-known retailers to small boutiques; from car dealers to construction companies.
"We take advantage of our location next to I-95," said Charles W. Hartgrove, town manager. "Our base is heavy with service industries such as restaurants, gas stations and hotels. We have over 1,500 hotel rooms."
Two shopping centers and dozens of retailers line the U.S. 1 corridor, selling products ranging from clothing and household goods to cars and heavy equipment.
Luck Chevrolet has been on U.S. 1 since 1916.
"There's a sense of community here," said Ross Luck, business manager. "A lot of our customers are fellow business owners in the area who like to do business with and support people who live and work in the same town."
Businesses in downtown Ashland reflect the benevolent spirit of the town.
"Many are destination shops," said Robert Traweek, president of Market Ashland Partnership and Ashland Ace Hardware.
"We have businesses like The Caboose, which carries wines from all over the world; Ashland Coffee & Tea, where you can find live entertainment; and Train Town Toy and Hobby."
The town also has four business/industrial parks - Ashland Industrial Park, Ashland Business Park, Ashcake Village Industrial Park and Hanover Business Center.
"The commercial-industrial sector that we have is very diverse and offers a wide variety of employment opportunities," said Cameron Wood, executive director for Hanover Association of Businesses and Chamber of Commerce.
Businesses in the parks include several longtime tenants such as Boschen Masonry, Richmond Restaurant Service, J.M. Pollard & Sons Oil and Stanley Construction Co. Inc.
"My husband Jack [Stanley] founded the company in 1956, and we have four generations working here," Margaret Stanley said. "We can't imagine being anyplace else."
The town's business base is steadily growing. The draw, Traweek said, is being a member of a small town with small-town values.
"You blend in. Wal-Mart was a huge issue [a while back], but now it is a member of our business organization and has been a good corporate citizen.
"It's just a nice town in which to open a business."
Employment by the numbers
The largest portion of Ashland residents, 22.1 percent, work in an educational, health or social-service field, 12.5 percent are employed in retail trade, and the construction industry rounds out the top three areas of employment, with 9.7 percent of the work force.
Major employers in Ashland include Randolph-Macon College, a private, four-year college employing an estimated 350 people; and Bear Island Paper Co., a manufacturer of newsprint employing more than 200 people.
SOURCES: 2000 census, Virginia Economic Development Partnership
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO
MEMO: SPECIAL SECTION: EXPLORING ASHLAND
Credit: Special Correspondent