CityView Magazine

business Walking into the store is like stepping back in time when general stores carried everything a customer needed to sustain life. father, William M. Bell in 1919. Other than the awning, there's noth- ing tres chic about Bell's Store except for the down home service one might ex- pect to find in a place like Bedford Falls, the fictional town in the classic Christ- mas story of "It's a Wonderful Life." Bell's, for example, delivered Christ- mas trees again this year, just like every year. Just pick one out, pay for it and it's on its way to your home. Then there's that personal attention not oſten found at the big box stores. In fact, Bell's em- ployees greet everyone crossing the store's threshold, some by their first name. "We concentrate on good service and we concentrate on good prices," said Stewart Bell. Among those ready to help you find that humane critter trap, thick center country ham or even a bag of ice melt is Angie Smith, a transplanted Michigan native turned Fayettevillian. She earned her horticulture degree from Fayette- Tisdale Homes, Inc. of the Greater Fayetteville Area 33 years experience as a Quality Home Builder James "Bud" Tisdale, Jr. President/CEO (910) 624-4060 28 | January/February • 2012 ville Technical Community College four years ago and soon aſter found a home at Bell's working with commer- cial landscapers, helping them find the optimum shrub or tree and, of course, flowers for that special project. Walking into the store is like step- ping back in time when general stores carried everything a customer needed to sustain life. There's the initial odor of garden fertilizers and potting soils; the bin overflowing with pecans; bird seed; thistle seed; squirrel buffet; local produce and homemade products to include peach salsa, country hams and honey; and flags – lots of flags. Bell's General Manager Jeff Thomp- son (not of local radio fame) says the store dedicates much of its inventory to flags. The store's offerings include not only a variety of American flags but also flags for the Armed Services as well as MIA flags, North Carolina state flags, Christian flags, Canadian flags and a World War II commemorative flag. Then there is the Big Green Egg, the ceramic outdoor cooker that is a grill, an oven and a smoker all rolled into one. Bell's is only one of three local Green Egg distributors within a 25-mile radius. Thompson, who became Bell's gen- eral manager about 12 years ago, said the items offered by the store vary from year to year. "It's a trial and error to see

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