Rieve's Store Re-Opens Monday

The Rieve's store in Odenton is expected to be back open in its historic building Monday.

The store, which had been operating from a temporary location for about six months, is back in its original building, now located behind the new Walgreens.

The Rieve's building was literally picked up and moved in April to make space for the new drug store.

It's now possible to access Rieve's by going through the driveway between Walgreens and the Odenton Ace Hardware, or from a driveway off Odenton Road.

The Rieve's store, now owned by Sunny Patel, has been of great interest to historians in Odenton. The store was opened in the 1930s and operated by Werner Charles Rieve. It was a popular place for workers in Odenton to go and grab some coffee and sandwiches, and there was also an extensive candy case.

Here's an excerpt of an essay written by Werner Charles Rieve's son:

"My father usually kept his store open until 8:00 pm in the evening. This gave the working people in the area time to come to the store for odds and ends after the evening meal. There were no convenience stores open 24 hours as there are today. A store such as the one my father had was probably a lot more friendly than most convenience stores though. There were many reasons for this, such as the friendly atmosphere generated by the local customers. They came to Rieve's store not just to buy food; they came there to keep in touch with each other and the community. Those customers WERE the community, and they generated an atmosphere unique to contemporary society. These were working people, "blue collar" by today's standards, but solid citizens whose standards were high."

The Odenton Heritage Society recently found an old black-and-white photo of the store (attached). The photo features original store owner Werner C. Rieve and two unidentified women. Roger White, president of the Odenton Heritage Society, said he would like the public's help in identifying the two women.

For more history about the store, check out the Odenton Heritage Society's website.