THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 19, 1995 TAG: 9502170217
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Susie Stoughton
LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
Pete Mays just said, ``No.''
No beer. No wine. Not while he's the boss.
Mays and his wife, Annette, bought the Dutch Market in the heart of the Holland area of Suffolk last month. Many of the old-timers in the close-knit community have responded to the alcohol ban with a resounding, ``Yes.''
The Holland Ladies' Ruritan Club threw a party for him, serving coffee and cookies at the store on a recent Thursday - the day the weekly grocery specials are advertised and shoppers typically fill the store.
Most of the town's residents have been delighted, said Debbie Ward, a Ruritan member. Mays' stand has ``cleaned up the street,'' she said.
Now the sidewalks on South Quay Road in front of the town's only grocery store and the vacant lot next door are no longer lined with loiterers who toss empty beer cans and wine bottles on the ground.
``Now they have to go down the railroad tracks to the new convenience store,'' Ward said. ``It's taken it away from downtown.''
Though Mays is a newcomer to the community, many have brought out the welcome mat to thank him for his stand.
He had no idea they would react the way they have, said Mays, who's worked in grocery stores for 25 years, though always for other bosses.
``I've sold beer and wine, but I've never had a decision in it,'' he said.
He didn't realize there was a problem, although he's glad if the decision has done some good.
``We just decided if we were going to do this, we were going to do the whole thing based on our conviction and faith,'' said Mays, who lives with his family in northern Suffolk. His wife teaches at Churchland High School.
It's a matter of principle, he said. He and his wife feel alcohol does more harm than it ever could do good.
And they've tried to teach their values to their teenage son, Jason, a junior at Nansemond River High School and a part-time employee at the store.
``I made the stand as much to show my son that if you believe something, you stand your ground,'' Mays said.
Mays, 47, grew up in Manassas, the son of a grocer who urged his four sons to get an education and follow other careers. His brothers became engineers, but he entered the Safeway management training program after graduating from the University of Richmond. For six years, he managed the former Safeway on Suffolk's Main Street, later working for Gene Walters after Safeway closed.
Recently, he was managing a grocery store in Churchland when he heard about the opportunity in Holland. He had considered other possibilities, but this was the first one with which he and his wife felt comfortable.
He realizes he might lose some grocery sales by refusing to sell alcohol at the full-line grocery.
``We're doing this whole thing on faith,'' he said. ``I feel the Lord is in this with us. I have total peace about the whole thing.''
After Mays took over the store that had been in business for 40 years, one of his first customers - one of the locals who had frequented the corner - was upset that he couldn't buy beer.
Since then, however, most comments have been positive.
``It just confirms even more that we've done the right thing,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MICHAEL KESTNER
Pete Mays and his wife, Annette, are pleased with the positive
reaction to their decision not to sell beer and wine at their Dutch
Market.
by CNB