JR’s General Store is located in the Old Order Mennonite community just to the west of Bainbridge Ohio on the Ross-Highland County line. There is a cluster of Old Order Mennonite-owned businesses on state Route 41, and JR’s is part of this cluster. The business is run by the Martin family (a common Mennonite surname) and has been a mainstay in the area for years.
I’ve been to JR's General Store several times and I can point out some things you would not want to miss, first among them: the sandwich board.
JR's has a custom meats sandwich window that you can order sandwiches of your choice. The sandwiches are massive, and make for a super lunch.
The rest of the store is just sort of a grab bag… There’s some furniture, some older Mennonite clothing, some parts of it look like a standard grocery store, others resemble more of a bulk food store and there are plenty of books. Here's a brief photo tour of JR's:
It is a spacious store with plenty of parking!
These hats are commonly worn by men in the Old Order Mennonite settlement. They are available for purchase here.
This is the part of JR's that just resembled a regular grocery.
Good produce and also shelves of bulk candy.
There are aisles of bulk flours, grains, and spices.
This book was one I was tempted to buy, it is a book that explains the roots and theology of the Stauffer Old Order Mennonite church. The books were at the check-out.
Of course, nothing is the same in the age of COVID. The employees, per the governor's mandate, were masked.
The above was my favorite....this locally made bag of green onion cheese, they had other flavors too, but almost 2 pounds of vacuum-packed cheese chunks for a little north of $2. That is a lot of cheese and I am enjoying every bite!
JR's is located at 4715 SR 41. They are open until 5 p.m. each day. Their phone is 740-634-2194.
Kathleen McNulty
I enjoy reading your posts, thank you. An opportunity to travel vicariously is super at this time of Covid. As for negative feedback ... you can't make all of the people happy all of the time. Keep doing what you are doing, providing insight into "plain living", it's much needed.