Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Gurdon gets new grocery

A new grocery store is planning to open during the last week of May at the former Hometown Market location.

The new owners will announce a grand opening ceremony time once the operation is under way.

Ron Rehkopf, co-owner with his brother, Terry, will open Rehkopf's Hometown Market with a completely new refrigeration system for meat and produce, and will keep the shelves stocked full of items "that this community lets us know they can use."

Rehkopf said Tuesday the new grocery plans to be open seven days a week, from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m.

"We will put in new, state of the art meat counters, as we specialize in top quality meat," Ron Rehkopf said. "The cash register system will also be top quality, and the store will be completely remerchandized to modern day standards."

Rehkopf said there will be a conventional section, as well as Hispanic and dollar sections.

"Pizza Pro will be in the store. Also, another nationally known deli source will be announced later," he said. "And we will continue to have Western Union and money orders."

As to employees, Rehkopf said the store will staff approximately 20 employees.

Applications will be taken, starting May 16.

"We will note our need for help in the newspaper," he said.

Rehkopf said the store mission statement is to provide a good selection of quality products, with good service at competitive prices.

"We will provide a very nice hometown supermarket, well inventoried and convenient," he said. "We specialize in a good meat program."

Rehkopf said Gurdon will be his family's ninth store. Headquartered in Texarkana, he said number 10 in under construction at the home base city.

"We have been in business since 1980," he said. "We operate neighborhood markets in a lot of rural areas."

In this general area, Rehkopf said his company opened a grocery store in Murfreesboro in October of 2004.

"We would appreciate your community support," he said. "We hope to be here for many years and plan on it. We intend to earn your respect."

Rehkopf said his store philosophies are more locality oriented than the larger corporations, "but we ask you to be a little patient as we fine tune things."

With hiring a staff of 17 to 20, Rehkopf said he expects a few growing pains but looks forward to working things out where customer satisfaction is the rule.

"We want to stress that we will have a new refrigeration system and our meats will be kept fresh and fully stocked," he said.

"We look forward to meeting everyone in Gurdon, and to being the store you come to when you are out of any grocery item you can name. We realize we must earn that right, and there are other choices out there. But by working together, we can meet the food item needs of those who have a hard time going out of town, as well as those who could go elsewhere but trust us enough to use Rehkopf's Hometown Market for quality and friendliness," he said.

"Loyalty is not just for our business. If rural life is to survive, there needs to be a return to community support and enthusiasm. I believe Gurdon realizes the value of a community business base. We will be there to serve you and help the community any way we can."