JR Moore & Son was founded in 1935 in the small community of Gulf, NC by John Romulus Moore and his son Richard Murchison Moore At the time of its opening, the store serviced the surrounding community by providing a local place to buy staples that were not readily available in the immediate area. To further access their customers, the Moore's ran a regular route to bring staples to their customer's door. This tradition lasted until the 1950's. After the passing of his father, Richard continued expanding and evolving the store. His philosophy was that the key to success in business was "When you see a need, you meet it". In a 1976 newspaper article, Richard Moore had this to say about his business: " If we didn't have all the stuff we got here, we'd a been gone years ago. the secret of this business is the stock. We got hardware, plumbing supplies, shoes, denims, gasoline, groceries, well, just about anything that folks need."
In 1968 Mr. Moore asked the current owner, Rayvon King, to come work with him at the store. Rayvon was raised in Gulf and had helped out in the store in his youth. Mr. Moore gave Rayvon some stock in the store and he in turn worked full time to run the store. After Mr. Moore's passing in 1978, Rayvon bought the remaining share of the business from Mr. Moore's widow, Mrs. Faye Moore. In the 40 plus years since Mr. Moore's passing, Rayvon has carried on his principles of when you see a need fill it and its all about having the stock.
The story continues...In January of 2011, Rayvon's daughter, Julie, joined the family business as an owner. She worked at the store during her teen/college years, and filled in during times of need after she graduated from NC State and began her career in textiles. When the company she worked for closed in 2009, she decided that she was ready to return to her roots and carry on the family business.
In the eighty plus years of its existence, JR Moore & Son has continued to evolve. Even with this necessary evolution, it has held true to its roots. Pay us a visit and see what we mean.
