A Cut Above The Rest
Aug01

A Cut Above The Rest

Article By: Jeffery Marcum Photos By: Josh Triggs An old adage states that “Variety is the spice of life.” Most of us demand variety. We want options and crave individuality. We want it our way instead of being forced into what others have chosen. This is true in the clothes that we wear, the way we order our food at restaurants, and how we decorate our homes. We expect to be able to customize our lives. Of course, this is not always an easy task. Most stores have limited options. You may have to go from store to store to get what you want, or order something from the internet instead of a local company. Furniture stores are no exception. They are stocked with mass-produced items that may not be the right size, or the right color, or the right material. Often there is no opportunity for individuality because the furniture is made from a pattern in a factory. So, you’re left to wander to the next store in hopes that you will find exactly what you want. Todd Gladfelter, owner of Worthy’s Run Furniture, is here to help. Todd custom builds the furniture that you want. Most of his current business is kitchen islands, but he has also built tables, benches, buffets, and sink basins. You decide the dimensions, the colors, the materials, and the style. You also decide what options you want. Todd is there to guide you and make sure that you get exactly what you want. Todd started his business as a part-time job several years ago. He took what he learned from shop class in high school, and his experience building homes around Mount Snow in Vermont, along with his experience repairing antique furniture for his wife’s shop, and turned a hobby into a business that he enjoys going to every day. He started by using his two-car garage in Hedgesville as a shop and sold his wares on the internet. He set up a shop on Etsy (Worthy’s Run Furniture) and created a web page at Worthysrunfurniture.com to interact with customers. Recently, Todd has outgrown his garage and is currently renting space in Hagerstown. He has hired two more full-time employees and has another who works part-time as a painter. He also has customers all across the United States. With all of this rapid growth, Todd is optimistic about his future, but has to remain cautious. “It was a little bit of a learning curve moving into a bigger space,” Todd admitted. He can no longer walk just a dozen steps to get to his workshop. The larger area means more projects can...

Read More
Experience Counts For A Lot
Jun01

Experience Counts For A Lot

Article By: Paul Long Photos By: Josh Triggs The way Jason Singer sees it, experience counts for a lot. Singer, the owner of Berkeley County-based CounterTop Solutions, estimated that he and his employees have remodeled more than 1,000 kitchens during the last 20 years, and he believes that’s something that potential customers might want to take into consideration. “We’re proud of the fact we’ve built a place you really should see before you complete your project,” he said recently, “even if you go with someone else.” Singer grew up in the kitchen and bath business. For many years, parents owned a showroom called Innerspace in Hagerstown Md. He left the area for awhile and explored other aspects of the construction business before returning to this area and opening CounterTop Solutions in Hagerstown in 2005. He has worked extensively in both the residential and commercial building sectors. “I’ve been lucky to have the skills to work with my hands,” said Singer, adding that he sees himself as more of an entrepreneur these days, and he has been trying to branch out into other things. Every now and then, though, it feels good to handle the work himself. In December 2016, he relocated his business to the Eastern Panhandle, opening the Earth Art Slab Studio and Granite Factory at 286 Langston Blvd. near Spring Mills. At approximately the same time, he launched a new showroom, the Earth Art Slab Studio, at 2625 Valley Ave. in Winchester. Earth Art is CounterTop Solutions’ particular brand of stone, Singer explained. “We wanted to bring up the retail portion of our business,” Singer said, explaining that CounterTop Solutions has been focusing more on retail kitchens since 2013, when it opened a retail showroom in Williamsport, Md. It was at that time that Singer and his staff began photographing slabs on a green screen, an important advancement in the design process. Moving to West Virginia made sense from a location standpoint, according to Singer. While Berkeley County’s population is substantially smaller than that of Washington County, Md., Singer’s market is centered along the Interstate 81 corridor, and his proximity to I-70 is also a bonus. CounterTop Solutions serves customers in Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia as well as Washington, D.C. Its residential coverage area runs from Harrisburg, Pa., to the north; Harrisonburg, Va., to the south; Deep Creek, Md., to the west and Frederick, Md., to the east. The company also has commercial clients in Baltimore, Washington and several communities in northern Virginia. As a general rule, Singer said, CounterTop Solutions will travel anywhere within a 100-mile radius of Berkeley County to work with a...

Read More
Local Favorite enjoys 50 years of food, community
Jun01

Local Favorite enjoys 50 years of food, community

Article By: Samantha Cronk Photos By: Josh Triggs Although there are no tables, chairs or seating, that has not stopped customers from flocking to Bob’s Carry Out, and the kitchen has never been busier cranking out pizza, burgers, wings and more. And the news couldn’t put a bigger smile on owner Bob Widmeyer’s face as the store celebrates its fiftieth anniversary. Reflecting on his 50 years in the food industry, Widmeyer, 88, acknowledges that he did not have the most traditional entry into the industry. From 1953-1963, Widmeyer worked shift work at DuPont, with each week a different shift. When he and his wife Dorothy began to have a family, the constant changing schedules in his shifts began to cause friction between the couple. “We just couldn’t get along, and I knew it wasn’t us, it’s the shift work. Every week I’m on a different shift and I just can’t adjust myself. I knew I had to go. I didn’t know what I was going to do, but I knew I had to do something. So, I got some money and opened our first restaurant,” he said. “I love food. There’s nothing I can’t do with it.” Widmeyer opened his first restaurant, The Colonial Restaurant, in 1966. The restaurant opened with a very different design than what Bob’s Carry Out is today. The Colonial Restaurant began as a full-service restaurant that could seat more around 175 people. It was located in the old Berkeley Hotel, which was owned by the Citizen’s National Bank. It was not long after opening though, when the bank chose to tear down the Berkeley Hotel to build a new bank in that location, and Widmeyer had to move. Rather than give up his desire to provide food to his native Martinsburg city, Widmeyer began the search for a new location. It was in driving around with his wife that he spotted a great spot, an empty building at the corner of Martin Street and Raleigh Street, the current location of the Martinsburg Fire Station. Widmeyer rented the building and enjoyed 10 years at that location before the City of Martinsburg, who owned the property, decided to build a fi re station at that location. Liking the downtown location, Widmeyer purchased the land on the adjourning corner of Martin Street and Raleigh Street, its current location at 130 N. Raleigh St. “We purchased the property, and I built the building in 1976. We had our grand opening in August, and it was well accepted by the community. When we opened the store defi nitely didn’t look like it does now. It was very low scale....

Read More
Everything Old Is New Again at New Charles Town Yarn Store
Jun01

Everything Old Is New Again at New Charles Town Yarn Store

By: Bonnie Williamson Photos By: Josh Triggs Knitting and crocheting may seem like dying arts, but Yarnability, a new business in Charles Town, WV, is taking advantage of renewed interest in these hobbies, as well as teaching these skills to another generation. During summers in upstate New York when she was about ten years old, Karen Frail, Yarnability’s owner, was taught how to crochet by her aunt. However, her career didn’t include crocheting or knitting initially. She received bachelors and master’s degrees in speech therapy. “But I always had a focus on the arts, like music and theater in high school and college,” Frail says. “In the early 2000s, knitting became popular again. It became hip to make your own things.” Frail began working at Yarnability in Shepherdstown, WV, in 2012. At the time, the shop was owned by Susan Wolcott, the former owner of Y2Knit in Funkstown, Md. from 2003 to 2012. Yarnability was located in Shepherdstown for two years on Duke Street then relocated to Princess Street where it remained from 2014 to 2017. “I began to expand my skills since I was surrounded by yarn,” Frail says. “When Susan wanted to retire, she had hopes of continuing the community of knitters and crocheters that Yarnability had helped in creating, so she sold the store to me.” Frail decided to move the store to 130 W. Washington St., Charles Town in March of this year. “I decided to make the move to Charles Town because the area is really pushing the arts with its promotion of an art and cultural district in town, and I wanted to be in it,” Frail said. “It’s also a central location for customers in surrounding areas like Leesburg and Winchester, Va. and Frederick, Md. I felt Charles Town also needed a local yarn shop. “Yarnability is an 850 square foot space, which carries a wide variety of superior yarn, quality tools and classes for the beginner and advanced learners in knitting and crochet. Frail says that Susan Wolcott still teaches classes part-time.”She had quite a following of customers from the Funkstown and Shepherdstown stores,” Frail says. Private lessons are also available at $20 for 90 minutes of instruction. Frail says she offers weekly learn to knit and learn to crochet classes in group settings at $20 for a two-hour session. “We provide project-guided classes, as well as instruction for customer chosen patterns and projects. We invite people to come in with projects they want help with,” she says. She offered a six-week class for the summer and plans to start another one in the fall. The summer class ran from May...

Read More
A Matter of ‘Convenience’
Jun01

A Matter of ‘Convenience’

Article By: Jeff Marcum Photos By: Josh Triggs It would be difficult to pinpoint the exact moment that convenience stores became such an integral part of the community. Nevertheless, service stations that once provided gasoline for your horseless carriage have evolved into a one-stop shop to buy gas, snacks, groceries, and even a full menu of fresh food. ROCS understands this evolution. In 1952, R. Mark “Mickey” Roach founded what would become R. M. Roach & Sons, parent company of ROCS, Roach Energy, and Sunfire Energy Solutions in Martinsburg. Since then, the company has experienced rapid growth throughout Berkeley, Jefferson, and Morgan Counties in West Virginia, and in Washington County in Maryland. But ROCS isn’t the same service station started in 1952. Matt Roach, along with his brother, Jason, and father, Steve, all owners of the business, summed it up like this, “Convenience stores are offering a greater customer experience than ever before. The industry has evolved from a simple model of selling fuel, cigarettes, beer, and soda to offering a complete shopping experience that includes grocery, fresh food, and more – the ‘one stop everything’. As consumer demand evolves, the more robust our model must become. Our food service growth is a key part of our expanding offer. It’s an exciting time in our industry and we’re ready for the challenge.” ROCS does not just understand and embrace this new role of convenience stores, they excel at it. ROCS has 15 locations across four counties, and are currently expanding to a 16th location to be opened later this year. Even faced with stiff competition from regional competitors, ROCS continues to thrive as a locally owned and operated business. Kelly Roach, Director of Sales and Marketing, believes that a lot of their success can be attributed to their core values. “Our core values as an organization are a part of every interaction we have daily – with our customers, employees, stakeholders, vendors, and others. ‘Demonstrating Strong Leadership’, ‘Total Customer Dedication’, ‘Build Caring Relationships’, these are just a few of those values. We truly practice what we preach and carry this mindset throughout our relationships. I believe that is what sets us apart from other similar businesses in the area and is the reason why we are such a strong 4th generation family operation; family in the sense that we are still a family-owned and operated organization, but also in the sense of a work family and community. There are many employees that have been with the business for 10-15-20-25 years. We are so grateful to have such a dedicated work family and community; it is the reason why we...

Read More