Retail losses concern Richeyville residents
The only bank in Richeyville has closed and is for sale along Route 40.
The former Country Fresh Market on Route 40 near Centerville stands vacant.
A Honda dealership on Route 40 in Richeyville closed its doors.
At a recent fish fry, Steve Kime and Patty Husachik let off steam about the likely closing of St. Agnes Church.
Richeyville’s riches have been diminishing and Patsy Ricciuti is concerned.
“For us to lose several taxable items in an area is scary,” said the council president of Centerville Borough, of which Richeyville is part. “Every time a business closes, a red flag goes up. And when several red flags go up in a year, that’s a concern.”
Richeyville’s fortunes – and those of Centerville – have been flagging with the closure of a PNC Bank branch and Country Fresh Market, the possible shuttering of St. Agnes Church and C. Harper Honda’s relocation to Rostraver Township.
And, as if the Route 40 corridor hasn’t been traumatized enough, owners Linda and Mark Nesto have been trying to sell their locally iconic Chuck Wagon Restaurant for nearly a year. They – and dozens of customers – want it to continue as a breakfast-lunch destination, but that will be up to the future owners.
Richeyville, to be sure, has been an oasis along National Road in the eastern half of Washington County, with a number of businesses enduring over time. The town “has always been the gold standard of Centerville Borough,” Ricciuti said.
But even though it’s a bit diminished, that oasis remains intact. Richeyville’s retail includes a large GetGo complex (convenience store, gas pumps, car wash); CVS Pharmacy; Litton’s Greenhouses; Joe’s Farm Market & Country Store; and Whimsical Amish Furniture.
Plus, a revived Country Fresh Market could enhance the lushness of that oasis, perhaps fairly soon. Howard Hanna Commercial Real Estate is marketing the much-needed market, and 22 surrounding acres, as a grocery to potential buyers. An agent in the downtown Pittsburgh office said negotiations are ongoing and an agreement could be forged soon.
“The owners’ wishes are to have it maintained as a market,” the agent said, the owners being the Giles family from the Fredericktown area. “The entire store is intact. Someone merely has to come in, fill the shelves and turn on the cash registers.”
The departures, permanent or temporary, concern locals, though. They’ve lost places to bank, shop for groceries, buy a set of wheels and, possibly, to worship. Not to mention tax sources.
“We shopped at Country Market and did all our banking (at PNC),” said Patty Husachik, a lifelong Richeyville resident and active St. Agnes volunteer. “The church bought a lot of supplies from Country Market. It’s a big letdown.”
Steve Kime, another longtime local, said PNC “shouldn’t have closed” and lamented the shuttering of Country Fresh Market four or five months ago. “It was a thriving market. I miss the place.”
He doesn’t miss the Honda dealership, absorbed by C. Harper and which he said was targeted for only temporary location in Richeyville. “I’ve never bought a Honda in my life.”
Ricciuti, the council head, said, “I’m very disturbed about the bank. It was convenient to everybody.”
He said he understands that financial difficulties may force businesses to leave certain areas. “If you can’t make money, you can’t last. PNC didn’t have economic problems.”
St. Agnes does, though, and that’s why the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh announced Feb. 22 – George Washington’s birthday – that the parish probably would close before July. During a meeting in the church’s social hall, the diocese said St. Agnes would not be able to pay for its operations by the end of the fiscal year, and either would be incorporated with another parish or be divided among three area churches.
Last weekend, however, St. Agnes got a reprieve. The diocese announced that all of the parish’s buildings would remain open while it works with the Very Rev. Samuel Esposito, parochial vicar for District Three, on how to best serve Catholic congregations in southeastern Washington County and parts of Greene County.
The possible closure has been the most irksome occurrence in the community, especially within a closely knit parish that launched in the 1930s near the entrance to Vesta No. 4 coal mine. Parishoners contend that their church has significant advantages over struggling parishes similar in size: it is handicapped-accessible and its current building was constructed in 2003.
Membership has diminished to 65 to 80, but their parish passion has not, Neither has their desire for survival.
“It’s hard,” said Lorraine Johnson, a member since 1970 and a Daisytown denizen. “We’ve had an outpouring of support. We’re still hoping.”
So is Husachik, who is firmly entwined in the fabric of St. Agnes. That’s where she and her husband, Emil, were married, where their four children were baptized and confirmed, and where the couple performs various voluntary roles.
“This is a family. That’s what’s beautiful about this,” she said during a recent fish fry, a popular parish event each Lent. “This has been our life. It makes you sick.”
Kime, 71, former head groundskeeper at California University of Pennsylvania, is retired professionally but willing and able to do what he can for the parish. He understands finances, but is quick to tout the handicapped-accessibility and newness of the building at St. Agnes. Oh, and an even greater quality.
“For some reason,” he said, referring to the diocese, “they’re worrying about money, not faith.”
Ricciuti does, indeed, have concerns, but he realizes Centerville has that oasis – and a green initiative expected to enhance the borough. A master plan has been developed for a community park on 13 donated acres, near the municipal complex southeast of Richeyville. It would be called Centerville Community Park, featuring hiking trails, sitting areas and a pavilion, serving all ages.
The project is funded partly by a $100,000 grant from the county’s Local Share Account and a grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development. Ricciuti said work could begin in July or August.
He also is still pushing for a Sheetz convenience store complex near the intersection of Toll 43 and 40, Ricciuti said the borough has sent four letters to corporate headquarters in Altoona over the past two years, promoting the site, but has yet to get a response. A fifth attempt may be forthcoming.
No town wants to lose community staples. The disappearance of even one can fray the fabric of a town – financially, psychologically, spiritually.
Richeyville has lost more than one.
It’s been tough, but residents there and in the surrounding vicinity pledge to be tough as well, to persevere.
“We will have to survive,” Ricciuti said, “but we will make it.”