By Woodrow Polston
On Friday and Saturday, the Hilltop Variety store previously located in Curryville, Mo., celebrated its grand opening at a new location just south of Middletown. During the final hours of the opening weekend celebration, owners Enos and Vera Girod were busy helping patrons who continued to visit and purchase merchandise. There was a steady flow of traffic coming and going. As soon as customers would check out at the counter and head toward the door, several more would make their way into the store.
“Business has been really good for our opening weekend,” said Enos. “We have had way more people than we expected to see come in. We sold over 30 pies and 40 loaves of bread before noon and have totally sold out since. We do not have an exact count of the number of customers that we have served so far, but it is definitely in the hundreds at least. We feel very blessed,” he added.
The new store location made it possible to offer a larger variety of goods for their customers, including the addition of food products. There were dry goods, flour, spices, chips, candy and a cooler section with meats and cheeses. There were also several tables arranged near the rear of the store where one could enjoy a deli sandwiches, which are sold there. On the other side of the store, there were plenty of household goods to choose from. Everything from quality Amish made furniture, to toys, lamps, socks and even horse saddles. The location seems to be a central point for many people in the area.
“We were in a somewhat remote area at our last location,” said Enos. “There wasn’t very much demand for this kind of business where we were at before. We were looking for a location that was more ideal for business. And this area that we chose, is perfect, because there just aren’t any shopping options between Bowling Green and Montgomery City. And we plan to be very competitive on our prices. We want to be a family focused, honest business that serves the community with integrity, respect, and fair prices,” he added.
Construction on the store began in the summer, and with the help of many others that were involved in the process, it was quickly made ready for operation over the course of the fall.
“We purchased the property in March of this year, and we started pouring concrete on July 15,” said Enos. “Everything that you see here on this property has been built, created, or transported here since that time, including other buildings on the property. We had the help of 10 other families that have recently moved here from the Bowling Green area. I also hired an Amish crew from Clark, Mo., that helped us out with the store building. They worked with us for about a week or so, but we did most of the construction ourselves,” he added.
The store is approximately 6,000-square-feet, and there is a good variety of merchandise that fills up that space. The new Hilltop Variety store is located at 420 Hwy. 161, Middletown, Mo. They can be reached at 573-470-2449. Their business hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday.