A lot has changed through the years at Wood’s Cold Storage & Supply, LLC, but one thing remains intact. It is still a family affair.
Built in 1955 as an apple and peach grading and storage facility, it has changed its product line, mainly driven by customer requests. It now serves the community by providing general farm supplies of all types and outdoor equipment.
John Wood, owner, said his parents initially intended for the business to be open each fall as a big fruit stand that primarily sold apples.
Also, during his father’s tenure, Wood recalled that auctions were often held in the store.
“Dad had a cousin that went out to stores and bought a lot of overcut stock at Bassett Furniture. So, in the whole back part there for the longest time, we had furniture like beds and so forth,” he said.
Auctions were held on Saturday nights and would include individual pieces and mix-and-match sets that didn’t necessarily go together.
“We might have 50 to 100 people here sometimes. You couldn’t find anywhere to park along the road when I was growing up,” he said.
But even in those early days, customers asked for more, said Wood, who operates the business with sons, James and Stephen.
“People would want a drink or a pack of nabs to go with it. So, it just kind of gradually built on. Then, we had all of this add-on” products, most of which again were due to customer requests or as a result of experience, Wood said.
For instance, after he took over the store during the late 1970s, Wood said he became a dealer of Stihl chainsaws.
The reason was simple. He became interested in the brand after looking for a replacement for the chainsaw he used on his farm and became convinced that Stihl “seemed to be the brand to buy.”
Along with the Stihl brand equipment, the chainsaws and other handheld power equipment, Wood also created a repair shop to serve customers.
As the business progressed, it ended the practice of focusing on storing produce.
“We stopped that six or eight years ago,” Wood said of the decision that was prompted by several major reasons.
He explained the apple trees were aging, “and we were going to have to replant. Plus, it got so there wasn’t any money in it anymore. You’d have a good year, then you’d have four bad years,” he said.
Wood said he also stopped selling apples and peaches in bulk as consumers changed the way they bought those fruits.
“People kind of moved from not buying bushels to take home and can, and instead started buying a bag to take home and eat,” he said.
The business continues to support local growers, buying local peaches and apples to sell when those fruits are in season, but that’s about the only remnant of the cold storage business.
The current Wood’s Cold Storage offers other products typically needed by farming operations – whether large or small – animal feed for every kind of animal – from dogs to chickens – garden seeds and plants, fertilizer, flowers, baby chicks and other poultry, minnows and a variety of fishing equipment.
“We sell a little bit of everything,” John Wood said.
About two years ago, Wood said the business started selling farm-raised beef.
“We grow the beef ourselves. They’re born on our farm, and we raise and feed them out. It was actually my son, Stephen’s, idea to start doing this part,” he said, adding the beef sales began “around the time that COVID started.”
Wood said his meat products are grain and pasture raised, which means they’re typically leaner than the cattle raised on a feedlot. For instance, ground beef is 85-90 percent lean meat. Products include the familiar, like ribeye and other cuts of steaks, briskets, ground beef, as well as some cuts that people don’t typically eat as much, such as oxtails, which are often used to season beans and other dishes, as well as beef tongue, which is considered a delicacy in some cultures.
“We sell pretty much everything,” he added.
Given that and the way the store has changed, Wood said its future is in the
hands of the next generation, his sons, James and Stephen, who both currently work at the store.
“If they want to continue with it and so far, they seem to want to do that,” he said.
The family also operates a farm, raising cows, chickens and other animals.
Located at 3720 Woolwine Highway, Stuart, Wood’s Cold Storage is open six days a week – 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and Saturdays 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Call (276) 694-3888 for more information.
