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Sally Bell’s offers a few of Richmond’s favorite things
0659 days
by M. Fletcher
in Richmond Business
It’s not a brown paper package. But it is tied up with string and it is one of Richmond’s very favorite things. And now, thanks to a new venture, you can enjoy it on weekends.
In 1924, following their meeting at a Women’s Exchange, Sarah (“Sallie”) Cabell Jones of Ashland and Elizabeth Lee Milton of Gloucester opened what was then called “Sarah Lee Kitchen.” They set out to provide quality catering goods, made from scratch. Five years in, Mrs. Milton sold her interest in the company to Mrs. Jones.
While it may be true that “Nobody doesn’t like Sarah Lee,” the larger corporation didn’t care for the local bakery’s use of the name. So the name was changed to the now Richmond famous “Sally Bell’s Kitchen.”
The box lunch tradition began in the 1950s. And in that nearly sixty years, the box lunch menu, and recipes haven’t changed. Since the tradition began, customers have been opening up that little black and white cardboard box to see their favorite Sally Belle Kitchen lunch item inside. Was it the deviled egg? Was it the upside down cupcake? Or was it just good food packaged well?
Sally Bell’s has been at their 701 Grace Street location since their beginnings. But, sadly for their fans, they are only open on weekdays. That means if you weren’t downtown during the week, chances were that you’d never get to experience the joy of a Sally Bell boxed lunch.
But this spring the caterer opened a new location at The Landing at Fountain Lake in Byrd Park. Now, on a weekend you can grab your lunch and enjoy a picnic by the lake. As an added bonus, Sally Bell’s now manages the paddle boat rental on the lake.
So far, it’s been a successful venture for the caterer.
Manager Scott Jones recently told Richmond.com “We’re getting a lot of West End ladies who are coming out here for a Sally Bell’s box lunch. And then last week, we had a huge group of kids who were out here for Friday Pictures in the Park who were buying ice cream and sodas.”
What’s so amazing about a Sally Bell lunch? For many it’s tradition. It’s comfort food. It’s the food you know. But the deviled eggs, sometimes made by the hundreds and the sweet potato salad can make your meal worthwhile.
Not to be missed are the upside down cupcakes. Sure you can go to one of the new, trendy cupcake bakeries. But the cupcakes at Sally Bell’s are made to eat, not to display. They’re iced upside down so that you get a taste of icing in every bite.
While the original owners were ladies of tradition and while the company has held those traditions throughout, branching out to Byrd Park signifies the recognition that it might just be time to grow a bit. And grow, they are. Sally Bell’s Facebook page now has over a thousand fans.
So this weekend, take a break from the usual and enjoy a Richmond tradition, now coming to you in their new location at Byrd Park.
Schwarzschild is a Richmond Girl’s Best Friend
0661 days
by M. Fletcher
in Richmond Business
In the early 1890s a young man named William Harry (W.H.) Schwarzschild was working as a clothing salesman, but like many he sought a better opportunity for himself. He saw among his clients the need for quality timepieces, particularly for those men who worked to keep the trains running on time. So in his non-work hours Schwarzschild sold timepieces to men at the Richmond rail stations. By the mid- 1890s his business was thriving. He quit his job as a clothing salesman and concentrated on building The Old Dominion Watch Company.
Schwarzschild’s business and success grew and in 1902 he changed the name of his company to Schwarzschild Brothers Watchmakers and Jewelers and moved to a new location at the corner of Broad and Second Streets. Schwarzschild now has locations in Short Pump Town Center, Cary Town and Midlothian.
Richmond residents who value fine jewelry have long recognized the Schwarzschild name. Schwarzschild Jewelers has provided Central Virginia with exquisite diamonds and jewelry for 113 years.
Schwarzschild is among the many Richmond businesses that Richmond has come to know and trust. Richmond values tradition, and Schwarzschild has been there to help carry that tradition out in fine style.
For over a hundred years, Richmond brides embraced the tradition of the Schwarzschild Bridal Registry. A young lady knew she was really a Richmond bride if she were registered with Schwarzschild. After a three year absence, the company announced the return of the Bridal Registry in December 2009. The savvy, modern-day Richmond shopper can reach the couple’s registry via the Schwarzschild website.
Just as no Richmond bride could be complete without a Schwarzschild registry, the best dressed Richmond trees bear the traditional Schwarzschild ornament. For 2009, the jeweler offered their exclusive ornament highlighting the charming row houses that line the streets of The Fan. This addition joined ornaments that featured The Jefferson Hotel; Maymont House; St John’s Church, The Dogwood & Cardinal; The State Capitol; The Byrd Theatre; The Ukrops Christmas Parade Silver Anniversary limited edition; Robert E. Lee statue and JEB Stuart statue.
Schwarzschild recently announced that for the Perfect Match Diamond Event at Schwarzschild Jewelers Friday, July 30th and Saturday, July 31st at Schwarzschild Alverser Plaza, they have “has assembled a collection of hundreds of fine diamonds of all shapes and sizes; engagement rings and wedding bands; and a special assortment of natural fancy colored diamonds, the rarest of the rare – in naturally rich, luminous hues that range from blue and pink to champagne and bright canary yellow.”
The story of W. H. Schwarzschild is one of many Richmond success stories. It’s the story of a young man, born just a few years after a long drawn out Civil War destroyed much of the city. As the city moved into the 20th century, Schwarzschild saw an opportunity and seized it. His entrepreneurship stands as a testament to the American spirit. And his name is a Richmond household word. Today, Schwarzschild remains one of the few independently owned, and family-run luxury jewelry companies in the country.
C.F. Sauer: Spicing Richmond Up for Over 100 Years
1680 days
by M. Fletcher
in Richmond Business
Richmond residents have long been familiar with the animated neon sign of the C.F. Sauer Company at their headquarters on Broad Street. Begun in 1884, Sauers is one of Richmond’s oldest companies. Their offices have been located at 2000 W. Broad Street since 1911.
At the age of seventeen, Conrad Frederick Sauer was a drug clerk. In the late 1800s, customers would bring their own bottles to be filled with the products they needed at the drugstore. When he noticed that housewives would purchase their vanilla from the drugstores, because they knew they’d get better quality and strength, Sauer had an idea. So he launched his company, making spices and flavoring pre-packaged and available in grocery stores.
By the late 1920s, the C.F. Sauer Company had grown to be the nation’s largest producer of extracts and spices. Sauer said, “In regard to putting our goods on the market, I felt that by putting out higher quality goods than those being sold and putting them in a cartoned bottle, which had not been done up to that time in the small packages, that they would find a more ready sale, which proved to be the case.”
The company has stayed in the family. Great-grandson Mark Sauer, now the Executive Vice President, says that his grandfather recognized an opportunity and seized on it. And he says that the company has stayed true to his grandfather’s vision. Mark Sauer says, “We are the last company in America that makes vanilla the way they used to make it. We’ve never changed.”
Vanilla is just one of the many products produced at Sauer’s Broad Street plant. The complex covers about 14 acres. Not far away, the company owned Metrolina Plastics, Inc. produces plastic boxes, bottles and tops for the Sauer’s spice products. Now employing about 900 people nationwide, Sauer’s has annual sales of around $300 million.
When C.F. Sauer, Sr. passed away in 1927, his son C.F. Sauer, Jr. was elected president and treasurer of the company. His leadership lead to a new strategy employing market based trends and advertising. Through an emphasis on sales, the company expanded their line of household drugs and remedies and purchased the Interstate Commerce Company. In 1929, the Sauer Company purchased Duke’s Products of Company began by Mrs. Eugenia Duke in 1917. Mrs. Duke began by selling homemade sandwiches to soldiers in training at Fort Sevier. Now a best seller in the Sauer Company, the Duke’s products include mayonnaise, sandwich relish, salad dressing and tarter sauce. To date, Mrs. Duke’s recipe remains the only major mayonnaise brand made without sugar.
In the 1960s, the company purchased Dean Foods, a margarine manufacturer and Alford’s Barbecue Sauce was added to the line, but as Sauer’s Barbecue Sauce.
In recent years, the company has enlarged the Richmond plant and storage facilities to accommodate their production of gravy, sauce and seasoning mixes.
In 1993, C.F. Sauer IV was elected president of the company. Mark Sauer is Executive Vice President of Sales, Bradford B. Sauer is Vice President of Sauer Properties. The Richmond plant manager is R. Tyler Sauer.
While the nation’s largest spice maker, McCormick & Co. has multiple times the amount of sales as Sauers, the C.F. Sauer company remains a Richmond fixture. And that’s not just the sign.
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A Good Car at a Good Price
0689 days
by M. Fletcher
in Richmond Business
In the early 1990s, seeking to find a new retail opportunity, Circuit City CEO Richard Sharp and Vice President of Corporate Planning Austin Ligon developed the concept for CarMax. In December of 1991 the Circuit City made a wise investment of $50 million to fund the concept.
The first CarMax store was opened in Richmond in September of 1993. The first sale was a 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee. By 1996 Car Max announces plans to open 80 to 90 stores nationwide. Adding to that was the launch of CarMax.com which allows customers to search through the entire Car Max inventory.
The company lives and operates by five basic principles:
- We offer tens of thousands of used cars across the country
- Every car we sell has a low, no-haggle price
- Our vehicles are superior in quality. Only the best cars meet our high standards
- We’ll buy your car whether you buy from us or not
- You’ll get friendly customer service
And it works. Ten years after Sharp and Ligon first dreamed of the concept, the company posted their first annual profit of $1.1 million. CarMax owes much of its success to simply providing customers what they want: an easy shopping experience to get a good car at a good price.
CarMax says they are the smart choice for buying a car, offering thousands of vehicles for under $12,000. Key to their selling method is posting the price right the car. No negotiating, no hidden charges. And they’re willing to work with a number of financial institutions to get the best option for prospective buyers.
Car Max invests back into the community. They recently announced a $45,000 grant to the Enrichmond Foundation for the fourth season of the CarMax Summer Basketball League.
Even with a struggling economy, Car Max reported that this spring they sold more cars and at higher prices. According to the Richmond Times Dispatch, “CarMax CEO Tom Folliard attributed the spike in wholesale sales to fewer cars on the market.”
Still at a meeting earlier this week Folliard told shareholders. “I still think we’re in for a little bit of a rough road. Although we see some positive signs in the economy, I personally feel it’s going to be a slow burn.”
Today, CarMax has 100 stores across the country. They’re ranked as a FORTUNE® 500 company and and have been named one of FORTUNE® magazine’s “Best Companies to Work For” six years in a row. Since that first sale in 1993 they’ve sold more than 2 million cars.
It seems that at least 2 million buyers agree that this is a better way to buy a car.
And, while the parent company of Circuit City declared bankruptcy and closed their doors last year, CarMax appears poised to remain strong and even rebound when the economy recovers.
But perhaps they’ve made enough of a name for themselves now that they’ll be even stronger in the future. It might just be that this downturn in the economy has convinced consumers that the shiny new car they want doesn’t have to brand new.
When they make that decision, CarMax has a good car, at a good price.
Thousands of them in fact.
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