Photos published with this article.
Robert Crutchfield	The family	Current Store Front

Kernersville News - Thursday, November 30th, 1995
Helen J. Ammen - Special to the News
Photos by Helen J. Ammen

The pot-bellied stove that heated the place and also provided a focal point for the latest town talk and political musings is gone.

Free hot chocolate is no longer served on Saturdays, and you can't count on getting a pound of “all-pork sausage – from local pigs” for 25 cents, or a pound of pinto beans for 7 ½ cents. Those prices, listed in the store's first advertisement in the Kernersville News, in 1938, are history.

What you can count on when you shop at Kernersville's oldest grocery store is a pervasive friendliness in a family-owned business that ranks customer satisfaction above all other considerations.

In fact, service and friendliness have been the guiding principles for four generations at Musten and Crutchfield Food Market. It's a business tradition that owners expect the fifth generation to continue.

In a relaxed environment where you most likely will be greeted by your first name, you can purchase some of the best homemade pimento cheese and meat products to be found anywhere in this part of the country.

“They are secret family recipe that my mother taught me,” says Mildred Berrier, whose father, John Musten, and brother-in-law, Dace “Crutch” Crutchfield, founded the business.

For well over half a century, Elva Musten's recipe has been used to produce chicken salad on Monday's; pimento cheese and liver pudding on Tuesday's, ham salad on Wednesday's and chili, “whenever it's needed,” according to Berrier.

These homemade products still bring back Kernersville residents who have been loyal customers at Musten & Crutchfield's for more than fifty years.

At 245 N. Main Street, every customer is valued. “We have the best customers there are,” says Berrier's sister, Louise Crutchfield, widow of Dace Crutchfield. “They have kept us in business for 57 years.”

A strong work ethic was ingrained in the sisters by their parents. Both women have worked in the family business since their teens, and they remember the first store near the Square in what became known as the Corum Building. In 1947, the store moved to a building adjacent to the present location on North Main Street and, in 1968, the family moved into the existing facility.

Working alongside their parents, the sisters learned the meat and produce business from the ground up. For many years, they and their four brothers worked long hours, six days a week.

“One good thing about a family business,” says Berrier, “is that you don't have to punch a time clock. If you need to be off, you can be.”

One suspects there were few days off.

Was consideration ever given to working elsewhere?

“No,” the sisters responded and, with a broad smile, Lousie Crutchfield adds, “I love being in the store, talking to people. It's where the action is!”

Well past retirement age (she doesn't say by how much), Lousie still comes to the store daily, although she no longer feels compelled to be there early to unlock the door. Watching her move around the store attending to this and that, conversing with customers, you know she is where she wants to be.

Referring to herself as “no spring chicken,” Mildred Berrier is seen at the store less frequently these days. In recent years, health problems have caused her to slow down a bit. What she enjoys most, she says, is being with family and friends.

“I'm not much for the senior groups,” she says. “I would rather just visit with friends one-on-one.”

Two of Louise Crutchfield's sons, Robert and Everett, are partners today in the store's operations, with Robert overseeing the produce section, and Everett managing the meat department. They adhere to their grandfather's policy of buying from local farmers.

“We give local farmers first chance,” says Robers, who has worked at the store since he was 14, and became a partner in 1967. “Some of the farmers we've been buying from for years. A few have died out.”

He is proud of the store's variety of fresh produce. “We offer about 15 varieties of apples, and that's more than you'll find in most stores around here,” he says.

Everett Crutchfield became partner in the family business in 1980 after spending several years evaluating educational programs for offenders in the state's correctional system. He appreciates the store's older clientèle and is pleased also that Kernersville's younger residents frequent the store. He smiles as he recalls a recent remark made by a new customer.

“I hear this is the place to get the best steak in town,” the young man said. Crutchfield assured the customer he had come to the right place.

The brothers discuss the challenges of operating a family-owned market in a world that functions increasingly on grander scales of economy. With access to generous advertising resources, and greater buying power, the chain markets have, considerable advantages over small businesses such as theirs. They believe the store's tradition of customer service has kept the business viable, though, and it is that reputation on which they are basing the store's future.

A recent new service of the store is home delivery. Customers can phone in their orders and, for a nominal charge, have their groceries delivered to their home. This appeals especially to those who are home-bound, or who prefer not to drive in bad weather. The delivery service fits the long tradition of anticipating customer needs and finding a way to meet them.

Tradition is assisted by astute business decisions.

The owners are considering a possible expansion into commercial processing of the meat and diary products for which the store is already well-known among the local customer base. Because processing food products for businesses involves a different set of state regulations, the family will consider the pros and cons of such an expansion before making a decision.

And, in keeping with the business practice of four generations, it will be a family decision.

Robert Crutchfield's 25-year-old son John has worked full-time in the store since returning from San Francisco several years ago. In that city of ethnic diversity, John found numerous small markets similar to his family's business and very few large chain supermarkets.

But John got homesick for North Carolina. “I missed green and trees. There's too much concrete.”

Living on the West Coast gave John a different perspective on things. The great grandson of John Musten, and grandson of Dace and, Louise Crutchfield, John is learning all he can about the family business. He sees change as necessary and is optimistic about the store's potential.

Is it difficult to work so closely with family members?

Mildred Berrier quickly says no. “We get along well. My father didn't allow us to fight when we were children,” she says. “If we did, he would make us kiss each other, and I hated that! It was worth than a spanking!”

Seated on wooden crates near the meat counter, Mildred Berrier and Louise Crutchfield reflect on their long careers with the store. As they talk, customers mover through the aisles, selecting their groceries for the week, and each is greeted cordially by the sisters. The ambiance seems more home-like than business-like.

And, what's more, it's all in the family.