Pughtown Agway renovates, expands
Agway in Pughtown renovates, expands showroom, keeps its focus local
PUGHTOWN>> Pughtown Agway is celebrating some recent upgrades with hopes of expanding their business. A favorite stop for locals, the long-running animal feed store and garden center has been a staple in the community for decades.
The historic building, which originally was a functioning mill close to 100 years ago, switched to supplying animal feed in the early part of last century and served as a farm bureau, an early kind of farming food co-op.
Current owners Anna and Aldo Magazzeni had been long-term Agway customers and eventually bought the store in 1988. They have kept the tradition of supplying local farmers, gardeners and pet owners with top quality products and genuine customer service. Supported by a loyal staff, Aldo credits the success of the business to his wife Anna, who runs the store.
“I’m really proud of Anna. There are very few times when you find a business that has been put together and built up in the community by a woman. It is a credit to her that as a woman she could hang in there and have a good business in the local community,” Aldo commented.
Offering organic feed for all types of animals, the store specializes in food for horses, sheep, chickens, llamas, alpacas, dogs, cats and much more.
“We really stress the organics. We were way ahead of our time. Now it’s becoming mainstream, everybody wants organics,” Anna said.
Recently, the interior of the store’s showroom was expanded. The couple also invested in putting new roofs on all of the buildings.
“We reinvested in what we believe in, which is to make the store continue in the future and tomake some improvements, to show people we are still excited about it and we are still going to make a commitment to it,” said Aldo.
“It’s a nice community store. It is all based on service. We give them a personal experience beyond a con- sumer product experience only.”
The Magazzeni’s have expanded the outdoor garden center from the time they first purchased Agway. It offers a wide variety of flowers, seeds, fertilizers and pollinators, as well as beautiful decorations for the garden.
“We have a big lawn and garden business too,” said Anna. “We sell a lot of grass seed, we sell a lot of mulch — bagged, bulk. We deliver.”
Additionally, the garden center participates in the Penn State Extension Chester County Master Gardener program. The group created a raised vegetable garden bed on the premises
“It’s a great place because it is small, you have that community feeling. You know your customers when they come in. As soon as they walk in the door, you knowwhat they want.”
— Arnie Ledford, feed store manager
to grow many types of fresh produce for those in the local community in need. All plants, seeds, topsoil and compost that were used in the project were provided by Agway.
“They come here and do a demo garden to show people how to garden thisway. They donate all the food to the Chester County Food Bank,” said Aldo.
Despite larger chain stores that offer similar products, Agway continues to survive as a privately owned business and offers something more to the local community: heartfelt customer service. The Magazzeni’s credit their long- term, close-knit staff with the success of the business.
“It takes a community of people to run a community store,” Aldo said. “It still operates and succeeds as a community store in spite of the competition, like a Lowe’s. It’s a community store that still focuses on service and relationships.”
Arnie Ledford, manager of the feed store, has been with Agway for 11 years.
“It’s a great place because it is small, you have that community feeling. You know your customers when they come in. As soon as they walk in the door, you know what they want. Here you have that face-to-face with your customers. It’s almost like a family. It’s a wonderful place to work.”
Garden Center manager Kristin McKeown noted that customers are supporting local growers when they purchase from Agway.
“We’re unique; we try to get different things in than Lowe’s,” she said. “We’re personable, we know our customers. We develop a relationship with them. We buy from all the local growers in the area, so you are supporting all these other local businesses by buying from us, which is nice.”
Another employee, James Miller, who has worked at Agway for 15 years, added, “I pride myself on, as all the employees do, on giving the highest level of customer service to help each customer with attention and care to meet their needs.”