Spotlight on Business

Ronald Davis began working for Judson Smith, the original owner of the property just across the street from where Smith & Davis now stands, when he was only 12 years old.

In 1955 Judson moved away and sold the store to Bill Davis (cousin to Ronald). Between 1961 and 1965, Ronald had a carpet business in the back of the furniture store that was run by Fred Smith (nephew to Judson). In 1965 they became partners and bought the business. Hence the name Smith & Davis.

Thirty years ago, the business was quite different. There was a gas pump out in front of the store. In addition to furniture and carpet, they also sold gas, groceries and clothing. In 1973, Ronald Davis bought out his partner and continued on his own.

In 1979, they moved the clothing business across the street to the building that is now Fred Smith Furniture. At that time, they stopped selling gas and groceries, a decision that was not made lightly, remembers Ronald Davis. They were not sure they would have the traffic they were used to without selling gas and cigarettes.

But their business continued to grow and in November 1988 they built their current building of 20,000 square feet. Even with the arrival of the large chain stores, Smith & Davis is still one of the most popular places to shop, especially when it comes to jeans and athletic shoes.

Asked why they have remained successful all these years with so much competition coming into the county, Ronald said “good service and reasonable pricing,” is the main reason. “The larger stores offer little to no service, but at Smith and Davis you can walk in and ask for what you want and a knowledgeable sales person will find the item for you,” he said. In this day and age when everyone is so rushed, you can run in and find just what you want without having to browse through rack after rack only to find that they don't have your size.

Smith & Davis carries those hard to find sizes, too, from the big and tall to the small and petite.

Ronald also credits their success to knowing when to turn the buying over to the next generation in order to keep up with the times. So sons Tony and George do most of the buying now.

Barbara Vansant came to work at Smith & Davis when the new building opened and she was instrumental in the changes in the Ladies' Department. George, who did most of the buying, kept asking her opinion. Now she does a lot of the buying on her own. Such brands as Liz Claiborne, Karen Kane, Southern Lady, Polo and Calvin Klein are now among the regulars at Smith & Davis. Handbags, scarves, jewelry and other accessories also are available to complete an outfit or for gift buying.

Although athletic shoes and jeans are still their number one sellers, this onetime small family-run business now deals with hundreds of vendors. Some of the big ones are Nike, Adidas, Levi, Lee, Reebok, Rockport, Russell Athletic and Timberland.

Another event that customers look forward to is the semiannual tent sales. The store's 25th sale is coming in October and thousands of customers will come by to check out some of the best bargains in the county. Every item under the tent will be marked down 50 percent. This reduction is taken off the lowest marked-down price and many of the items are sold way below wholesale.

In 1990 T & G Allsports (named after sons Tony and George) was opened in the Belk shopping center and two years later the store moved to its current location, next to Shoney's in Fayetteville. They carry almost everything you could need for almost all sports such as baseball, softball, basketball, football, soccer, wrestling and cheerleading. Although they do not carry tennis rackets or golf clubs, they do carry most of the accessories and shoes for those sports as well.

Bats, balls, shoes, uniforms, sports attire and safety equipment from such companies as Worth, Easton, Louisville Slugger, Rawlings, Mizuno, New Era, Puma, Schutt, Nike and Adidas are just a few of the items they carry. In addition to their large selection, their pricing is very often lower than some of those big name sport stores.

The biggest seller at T & G is custom jerseys and second uniforms for school and league sports. They make this customized apparel for teams in Fayetteville, Peachtree City, Newnan, Griffin, Riverdale and even as far away as Macon and LaGrange.

Todd Ray, who is married to Ronald's daughter, Beth, manages T & G with the help of Frank Robinson and Barbara Vansant's daughter, Lisa.

Smith & Davis and T & G Allsports are definitely family businesses. Six members of the family work full-time at these two stores and many other family members come in and work during their tent sales. All of the bookkeeping for both stores is done by Noreene Davis, Ronald's wife, without the help of computers.

Smith & Davis is at 1552 Ga. Highway 54 halfway between Peachtree City and Fayetteville. Hours are 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 - 6 p.m. Sunday. The phone number is 770-487-4183.

T & G Allsports is at 100 Ga. Highway 314 in Fayetteville. Hours are 10:00 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 - 6 p.m. Sunday. The phone number is 770-460-7700.

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