Wheeling Area Chamber of Commerce Celebrates Buffalo Creek Country & Primitive Decor in Centre Market

WHEELING -- The Wheeling Area Chamber of Commerce continues its quest to support all of its member businesses, and on Friday, helped Buffalo Creek Country & Primitive Decor in Centre Market celebrate an open house.

Although Bill and Pat Rice opened the Buffalo Creek Country store in Wheeling a little over three years ago, the business never held a ribbon cutting or formal ceremony with the Chamber. In fact last year, ribbon cutting ceremonies altogether were put on hold in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing protocols.

Buffalo Creek actually closed for a period during COVID last year, but was able to re-open its doors at 2244 Market St. on the southeast corner of Centre Market across the street from the lower market house. And the Wheeling Area Chamber of Commerce was happy to help them host a formal celebration that was more of an open house than a ribbon cutting ceremony for a brand new business.

"It's exciting and it's wonderful to celebrate them being here," Chamber President Erikka Storch said Friday. "If you're an entrepreneur, you're giving your sweat, your effort and your money -- you're giving so much to your business. We want to celebrate with everybody who is able to cut a ribbon and take part in doing business in the Wheeling area."

Originally from Wellsburg, the Rices now reside in St. Clairsville, but make Centre Market in Wheeling their home base for their quaint and cozy store that boasts an array of country-style and primitive decor.

"We've got a little bit of everything," Bill Rice said, noting that they do some ordering but also get a great deal of their merchandise while traveling about. "We like to go all over the East Coast and Midwest. We load our cargo trailer to the hilt."

No strangers to the small business game, the Rices had lived for years in Virginia, where they operated a store called Smith Mountain Lake Gifts. "We were more of a gift store down here," Bill Rice said. They eventually returned to the Ohio Valley to be closer to their grandchildren.

They opened a Buffalo Creek Country & Primitive Decor location in downtown St. Clairsville after they moved back. For a short period of time, they operated the store out of a location in Bellaire, as well. But Centre Market seems to be a perfect fit for them.

"It is a unique gem, and it can be a destination as well," Storch said of Centre Market.

"When people come home, this is where they want to come home to," Pat Rice added.

"We get a bit more traffic, and there's parking here," Bill Rice said, noting that parking spots in Centre Market get filled, but then reopen quickly as customers come and go. We love the people, and we treat them right. We invite everyone to come in and see us. Come and see the unique things that we have, and the prices. We try to price all of our products where people can afford it. We're not a price gouger."

During the Chamber-sponsored open house, guests could enter a drawing for prizes, including merchandise from the store. Storch said the Chamber does everything it can to help promote its members in Wheeling and beyond.

"We are the Wheeling Area Chamber of Commerce, so we have members all over the tri-state area, and we value all members," Storch said, noting that over the past 17 months or so during the pandemic, the Chamber continued to serve as a key point of contact for many of its member businesses through the challenging times. Now that the economy is picking up steam again, getting out and helping to facilitate more activities and more community engagement is crucial to the cause. "We want to celebrate our members."

Buffalo Creek Country & Primitive Decor is open Tuesday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday from 10-6 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to whenever, because "if there's people here, we'll stay," Bill Rice noted.