HISTORY:

On February 9, 1979, began the history of Fred's General Mercantile. Fred and Margie Pfohl purchased a rectangle piece of property that was considered "useless", except for billboard advertisement, and transformed it into a thriving business.

Fred jokes that he started the general store business over the price of a can of tuna. Prior to Fred and Margie's decision to build the store, Fred purchased a can of tuna from a convenience type store on Beech Mountain. It was far too expensive. The result of that purchase is Fred's General Mercantile. Fred has been seen checking the price of tuna on his own grocery shelves.

The store was built with family in mind. Fred and Margie lived "upstairs" above the store until just a few years ago. This enabled them to have their family nearby and be available to the customers.

During the early years, the inventory was much smaller. Everything was on the main level. They began with a few tee shirts, groceries, some hardware, and lots of faith. A customer remembering when Fred' opened, said with a grin, "Everyone thought Fred had lost his mind. We knew Beech Mountain couldn't support a store of its own." Through the addition of a ski shop, toy shop, and an expanded deli, the store has experienced such heights of success and recognition that Fred's General Mercantile has become synonymous with Beech Mountain.

By, Pamela Wilder

The main store consists of a grocery store, hardware store, and clothing store. At Fred's we can out fit the entire family for a weekend vacation. The grocery is a fully stocked grocery store that carries everything from canned goods to gourmet foods. In the hardware section we feature such quality items as Stanley tools, Laclede tire chains, and more screws, nails, nuts, and bolts then you can shake a stick at! The clothing section is filled with hundreds of T-shirts and sweatshirts, and we also carry high quality clothing from Columbia Sportswear, Woolrich,  Alps,  & Merrell.

The grocery is complete with fruits and vegetables (locally grown in season), fresh meats and poultry, homemade breads and an interesting variety of domestic beers and wines.  Plus we carry all the staples you'll need to round out your shopping.  You can pick up a loaf of bread, milk, and eggs, all while perusing our selection of homemade jellies and jams.  Whether its a snack to crave your hunger, or a car load to fill your pantry, you'll be able to find it at Fred's!

The hardware section is loaded with thousands of items to fix or improve your home, or just add to your bountiful toolbox.  We carry a full line of hand tools, some power tools and also specialty items for your needs.  There's hundreds of electrical supplies, thousands of plumbing fittings and adapters, and millions of nuts and bolts.  We also can get you that special item that you've been looking for, we order from a huge selection of Orgill products which feature such name brands as Stanley, Black & Decker, and 3M.  Let us know what your looking for and we'll see about getting it to you in a week or so.

In the clothing section you'll be able to get everything from pants to shirts to coats.  We have a huge selection to choose from whether it be a t-shirt to remember your trip, or those socks that you left back home.  The fine selection of name Columbia, Woolrich,  and many others, will have you yearning for more time to browse through the racks.  We also feature thousands of accessories to go along with that new shirt.  Scarves, gloves, and handkerchiefs will help you finish out your night on the town or dressing up for that special someone.  Give us a call and check to see if we have what you're looking for, we can ship any item to you that we carry.  Be sure to check out our new line of Carhartt while your visiting us also!

You'll also find dozens of nick-nacks and unusual gift items. We carry a full line of Dept. 56 Snow Village and Snowbabies, and Swiss Army Knives,  just to name a few.                                                                                  

If you are looking for a certain item and we don't usually stock it, we will do everything possible to have it for you ASAP. We will gladly ship any item that we carry to you via UPS and charge it to your credit card. Feel free to give us a call if you are interested in finding out more.

Fred's Website is Best Viewed in 800 x 600 Screen Size or Larger.