Challenger Spotlight: Marla Edwards, Crooked Road General Store

The Crooked Road General Store is located in Bristol, Virginia. It is a nearly 100 year old building that has been restored to a vintage, old-fashioned style general store. Their products reflect the store’s appearance. They offer glass bottled drinks, candies, snacks, and memorabilia from days gone by. Business owner Marla Edwards chose not to include alcohol, lottery, cigarettes and gasoline in order to keep the store a family environment. The Crooked Road General Store has added a contemporary kick with air conditioning and cable TV. On Monday nights, customers can stop by to enjoy a box supper of homemade meatloaf, creamed potatoes, green beans, a roll, and dessert. Then, they’ll be able to sit back and enjoy the sounds of local talent including bluegrass, gospel, and country music on Mondays. In order to expand, Marla’s overall goal is to create more jobs. She wishes to hire two part-time employees in order to extend her business hours. A product goal is to create a new line of original line of souvenirs. Marla says, “These would include t-shirts, hats, post cards, and more.” While her new product line would celebrate the Crooked Road General Store, the products are not limited to the store but would be a compliment to other features in the area. Marla also hopes to keep her business open to those in the community who want to reserve the space for parties. Potential new employees could be used to work these parties. Another goal would be to have an outside venue for festivals. Marla appreciates the time and dedication that the people involved with the Cup challenge have given her and her business so far and cannot wait to see where this will take the Crooked Road General Store.