Photos courtesy of Mark D. Lowell unless otherwise noted.
Carrol Boyd watercolor of storefront
Enough has been written about Nuttall Store in Ware Neck that articles, photos, and historical memorabilia fill several binders and represent snapshots of life in Ware Neck over the years. Thousands of receipts, bills, advertisements, and shopping lists spanning decades were discovered in the building’s attic and are now in the hands of William and Mary archaeologists and conservationists.
For the Ware Neck community, these scraps of paper represent a rich inheritance, and in the minds of the store’s many supporters, it’s a marvel they have survived the ravages of time. It wasn’t until its future was in question, and concerned Ware Neck residents purchased the property, that the old records were discovered and deemed potentially historic.
These records underscore the important ways this landmark has served the local community since its founding in 1877. The building was placed on the Virginia Landmark Register and National Register of Historic Places in 2009. The building is not just a repository of the past, but a dynamic community center anchored by Nuttall Store and the US Post Office.
Four vintage mailboxes have fronted the country store for decades. Photo courtesy of Deb Weissler.
PAST
Gloucester County’s history dates back to the first English settlement at Jamestown in 1607. It was on Gloucester’s shores that the Powhatan had one of several villages. The county grew rapidly in the seventeenth century thanks to the many royal land grants issued to the English gentry who established large profitable plantations. By the eighteenth century, Gloucester was one of the wealthiest counties in the state.
Ravaged during the American Civil War, the county rapidly recovered during reconstruction compared to other parts of the South, thanks in part to the steamship lines that ran between West Point, Norfolk, and Baltimore. Residents clustered in small communities along the banks of the county’s innumerable waterways to profit not only from the steamship trade but from the Chesapeake Bay’s bountiful waters. It was in one such community, Ware Neck, that Arthur Tabb opened his general store in 1875.
Ware Neck Store Vintage. Circa 1929. Photo courtesy of Nuttall Store.
Tabb’s store occupied a strategic location near Hockley Wharf, the most important steamboat landing on the Ware River. Goods were offloaded at the wharf a half-mile away and transported to the store by wagon. Anything and everything could be ordered at the store and brought in by boat.
A general store carried a variety of merchandise obtained from warehouses near and far and from local sources. It served as the middleman, providing the local community with much-needed goods and services. By the dawn of the automobile, there were at least 39 such stores throughout the county, three alone in Ware Neck. Today, only Nuttall Store remains in business.
In 1884, the Tabb store was sold to brothers Richard and H.E. Taliaferro and was commonly called Ware Neck Store. By then, the two-story rectangular building served as a store on the ground floor and a millinery shop above. In 1886, the Taliaferros established the Ware Neck Post Office inside the store, an addition that would prove fortuitous. Not only did this increase daily traffic, but it provided a gathering spot for locals to exchange information, gather socially, and served as a place to vote.
In 1902, the Taliaferro brothers divided the 8.1-acre property between them, with Richard keeping the store. The building’s value steadily rose during the first two decades of the twentieth century and in 1928, Richard willed the property to his wife, Fannie. She later sold the property to her son, Earl. In the decades that followed, it changed hands several times until it was bought by E. Randolph Nuttall in 1946.
RUDY’S STORE
Rudy Nuttall was a Ware Neck native, a 1931 graduate of Botetourt High School, and a US Navy veteran of World War II. Rudy and his cousin, Walter Nuttall, took over the store in 1946, and Nuttall & Co. would operate for more than 55 years. Rudy became sole owner of the store in 1952 and also served as postmaster.
By the mid-fifties, general stores across the country were in decline, displaced by specialized retailers. In Ware Neck, Hockley Wharf had been destroyed by the great 1933 Chesapeake-Potomac Hurricane. Despite the loss of this strategic stop, close ties to the community enabled the store to survive while others foundered.
Nuttall Store became the heart of a growing community, and Rudy stocked his shelves with all the necessities residents and visitors could desire: dry goods, kerosene, lamp oil, crab nets, oars, work clothes, paint, fresh meat, cold drinks, and greeting cards. Within its walls, the store was like a museum, filled with vintage shop furnishings.
Rudy was a wealth of knowledge; he could tell you where the fish were biting and how to plant your garden. He greeted almost everyone by name and would extend credit when needed. As times changed and larger commercial stores sprang up in nearby Gloucester Courthouse, Rudy adapted, staying one step ahead of his competition. By 2002 at age 88, he decided to retire. The question in everyone’s mind was: What would become of Nuttall Store?
Chef Winslow Goodier in the kitchen.
PRESENT
As the business passed through two subsequent owners, a group of visionary residents led by Bill Perrin spearheaded a project aimed at preserving and maintaining the building. A group of approximately 25 investors purchased the store and the building in 2007. In 2011, Friends of the Ware Neck Store (FOWNS), a 501C3 charitable organization, acquired the historic building.
Rather than converting it into a museum filled with relics of the past, donors envisioned an active store and post office that would continue to serve the community. The building required extensive renovations and repairs, among which was a new HVAC system, septic, and backup generator; expensive but necessary to keep the building viable. In 2010, Deanna Murphy of Ware Neck became the new store manager.
Formerly the manager of the Nancy Thomas Gallery in Yorktown, Murphy sensed great potential in the store and recognized its challenges. Her business acumen was just what Nuttall Store needed to ensure a successful business, now and into the future. “We needed someone who would take the reins,” explains Will Grant, a founding member of FOWNS. Murphy was looking to make a change closer to home, and Nuttall Store was in her own backyard. “I didn’t know a thing about country or general stores, but knowing the group wanted to improve and expand the store, but unsure of the direction it would take, I decided to go for it and it’s been wonderful,” she says.
The group knew that not every idea or vision would be successful, and some experimentation was required. “I originally thought that the novelty and gift side of the business would grow faster, not having any clue the deli and kitchen area had the greatest growth potential. It wasn’t my specialty, but I adapted,” Murphy laughs.
“Looking back, we are located on a long road, and there are lots of folks who work here. The people who come into the store on a daily basis, often because of the post office or to buy a newspaper, discover something they want to take home for dinner or to enjoy for lunch. There’s the local customer, the ones who stop in every day with their needs. Then there are the visitors and, in recent years, we have seen a huge growth in the Airbnb tourists who stop by looking for gifts but are hungry too. Brent and Becky’s Bulbs have been huge supporters as well. We have filled a niche for them providing boxed lunches for their various functions.”
“We weren’t sure people would drive down a three-mile, two lane country road to buy food,” explains Perrin. “It took a couple of years for members to realize those who had advocated for the kitchen expansion were correct.”
Visitors to Nuttall Store will find tastefully arranged vignettes that invite folks to stop and shop. A coffee bar juxtaposes old and new; a Keurig K-Cup maker alongside a vintage coffee bean grinder. The small but growing wine section encompasses a nineteenth-century counter with bowed front built to once accommodate ladies’ hoop skirts. Shelves stocked with private-label jams and jellies and a small community library rub elbows with a half-dozen dining tables and chairs in the rear of the store.
A vintage Coca-Cola chest cooler still stores cold bottled sodas, a checker board barrel table invites a friendly game, and cold cases hold a variety of drinks and perishables. Shelves are stocked with groceries and dry goods as much in demand today as a century ago. Intermingled with the modern are vintage antiques that were once essential to the store’s business. Fragrances coming from the kitchen lure customers new and old to linger, thanks to Nuttall’s new chef, Winslow Goodier.
Boards presidents Will Grant (left) and Bill Perrin flank store manager Deanna Murphy.
Chef Goodier was active on the Nuttall Store board of directors for five years before the proposed kitchen expansion attracted his attention. With more than 30 years’ experience in the culinary arts, he has worked as a chef at several prestigious locations throughout Virginia: Hermitage Country Club in Goochland, The Tobacco Company in downtown Richmond, The Chamberlin Hotel in Hampton, and Colonial Williamsburg.
As former president and chairman of the board of The Virginia Chefs’ Association, Goodier has twice been the recipient of the Virginia’s Chefs’ Association’s Chef of the Year Award and a two-time winner of the American Culinary Federation’s Presidential Medallion.
As he worked with the board to enhance the store’s business, he mulled over his next career move carefully. His vision for the food service end of the business piqued his interest, but the existing kitchen was so small he couldn’t envision making it work. “When we decided to expand the kitchen into an area that was formerly a garage, I realized I now had suitable space.”
He developed a lunch menu and oversees the deli prep. His long association with meat suppliers enables him to order choice cuts of beef, pork, lamb, and chicken he cuts on-site. As butcher shops have declined across the region, demand for his expertise has increased. His meals-to-go are popular year-round as commuters stop by to pick up a full course meal to take home. Customers have taken notice of the improvements and business has grown 25-30 percent. That’s sweet music to a store owner’s ears.
FUTURE
FOWNS and Nuttall Store have no plans to rest on their laurels. FOWNS will kick off an annual capital campaign beginning in November to raise money for additional restorations and expansion. Supporters come from all walks of life, either residing in Ware Neck, have been frequent customers, or have generational or business ties to the region. At the back of the building lies an annex heavily damaged by fire some years ago.
It is into this space FOWNS plans to renovate and expand, including an additional restroom, storage, and meeting rooms.
As for Nuttall Store itself, “I would like to expand the gift and private label items,” says Murphy. “Perhaps some gourmet gift items, gift baskets, and higher-end wines. We’ve already had a few events like quarterly wine tastings. Everything we’ve experimented with so far has been a hit.”
Chef Goodier hopes to offer a few intimate private dinners, perhaps an occasional Sunday brunch. The five-acre lot would be perfect to host outdoor events and fundraisers. The group hasn’t even scratched the surface of opportunities. Ultimately, the one goal everyone keeps in mind is that to compete in the busy grocery market today, the store’s ultimate success is due to outstanding customer service. Fans of Nuttall Store all agree they do this with aplomb.