“I’m getting too old,” Ried said. “There's times you gotta do something different. I'm ready to do something different.”
Come Monday, the store, renamed Olean Food Barn, will be under the ownership of Scott McCann of Bradford and Jim Stoddard of Limestone.
“I am excited and honored with the opportunity to carry on the independent retailer tradition David and his team have built and deliver to Olean and the surrounding communities,” McCann said in a press release. “We will continue building upon those values David has shared with his customers.”
In the search for new ownership, Ried said he looked for someone who would stay independent coupled with the resources and understanding to maintain the grocery store.
“We wanted someone who would be independent and someone who is financially responsible,” Ried said. “We're competing against Tops markets and the biggest food retailer in the world, Walmart. If you're not financially responsible, when you come in here, you're going to have trouble.”
The new owners intend to retain the Ried employees and managers as well as its marketing plans.
“David has assembled a great team, and it starts with the manager Tom Vesotski, who does a great job running the store,” Stoddard said in the release. “I’m looking forward to working with Tom and the entire staff in serving Olean and the surrounding areas.”
Outlasting national chains such as A&P and Wegmans, Ried’s Food Barn’s nearly half-century of consistent business solidified its place in the Olean community.
“We've competed against almost everybody here,” Ried said. “And you know what? A lot of those guys are gone, and we're still here.”
To survive in such a competitive area, Ried stressed the importance of affordability.
“Sometimes [wholesalers] have better prices than us,” Ried said. “But if shoppers use our flier, they can get some really good deals on the groceries that they use all the time. We have sales on our prime-grade beef, our choice-grade beef, our Grade-A chicken. We make sure our quality products are competitive with anyone.”
But to thrive, they needed to pull in customers from outside of just Olean.
“Although we’re very important to Olean and south Olean, we need more than that to survive,” Ried said. “We need people from Hinsdale, Allegany, Portville, Bradford. We need customers from all over because if you have volume, that little profit margin adds up just enough to pay everybody and reinvest in the store.”
And to do that, Ried said he tries to provide products no other stores in the area can.
“This store has been famous for the bakery for many years,” Ried said. “We're really one of the only places that mixes, hand makes and packages fresh bakery products every day.”
And customers have taken notice.
“I’ve shopped at Ried’s pretty much my whole life,” Tammy Pearce, a Bradford native, said. “The deli and the bakery make the drive worth it. They have the best fresh-baked rolls and doughnuts.”
Ried attributed the success of his business to community engagement.
“I’m proud of all the young people we’ve hired over the years,” Ried said. “We had kids that graduated high school, went to college, became school teachers, lawyers, accountants. One of them became a mayor. They all got their start here.”
Despite his name no longer being on the sign, Ried said people will still see him — just on the other side of the counter.
“I've dreamed of the day I'd be a customer,” Ried said. “I thought it would be cool just to come in and shop here after my career ended. I’m going to stay in Olean for my retirement. I frequently travel, but this is my home and I love it here.”
The food barn will be closed Sunday while staff compile a complete inventory. It will re-open under the new name on Monday.
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