GRAND OPENING IS HEALD FOR 110,000-SQUARE-FOOT STORE

Jackson has added a time-tested business to its ever-growing mix of commerce. Buchheit opened its sixth "old general store" location off of US Hwy 61 in southern Jackson (2801 S. Old Orchard Road) recently. Wednesday the store held its ribbon-cutting, as part of Grand Opening Week.

"Things have gone great," said Pete Rabbitt, store manager. "We have a great location and a great community to work with. I look forward to great success here."

A ribbon-cutting was held for the 110,000 square-foot store Wednesday, with four generations of Buchheits taking part. Family patriarch Rudy, who opened the initial Buchheit store in Biehle in 1934, was on hand for the ribbon-cutting and the cutting of a huge circular cake.

Rabbitt said the Jackson location has gone over extremely well with area shoppers during tis first three weeks of business.

"One innovation we have is the drive-through lumberyard," he said. "Everyone has been really accepting of that. A lot of ladies really like it. They don't have to get out of the car and lug boards around."

The store carries everything from lumber to clothes to food items to hardware and lawn/garden items.

The Biehle store grew to almost legendary status in rural Missouri. The phrase "going to Biehle" meant just one thing -- a trip to Buchheit's, which largely WAS Biehle.

Now the firm has stores in Herculaneum (which Rabbitt managed the past five years), Perryville and Illinois sites, Sparta and Jacksonville.

"I think the entire community is proud to have Buchheit's as part of the community," said Mayor Paul Sander. "We're always supportive of expanding existing businesses and bringing in new ones. I'm sure Buchheit will grow along with Jackson."

"What a wonderful addition to Jackson this will be," said Ken Parrett, executive director of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce. "It will be just great. The store has a tradition of providing value for not an arm and a leg. I look forward to working with them."

Many decades and many sales after Rudy Buchheit paid $25 a month to purchase a former saloon building in Biehle, the family business has grown into a small giant in Southeast Missouri.

"I poured everything back into the business," he said in a recent interview. "We ate well, but didn't make any money. I didn't take a salary until the late 50s."

Buchheit raised his 11 children and a step-child in a house next to the store, which kept growing as customers continued to come from as far as St. Louis.

The original store burned in 1986, but was quickly replaced with a new, larger building. It was shortly after that that the Buchheits began expanding -- first into Sparta.

"We try to create a family environment, which leads to long-term employment," said President Tim Buchheit said in a recent interview. "Your people: That's what makes a difference."

So does teamwork, which is what the 11-spoked wheel stands for that the company uses as an emblem.