Jay and Dale Crist, Stew Hartman, Leo Rutter, a son of Bud's who still lives on the farm, and Mike Rutter, formed the CHR Ice Company in 1961. In the 1960s, dairies owned and operated by supermarket chains began to affect business. To counter this competition, the same group created the CHR Corporation (d.b.a. Rutter's Farm Stores) in 1967 for the primary purpose of establishing retail outlets for Rutter's Dairy products. The concept of the convenience store was in its infancy—and offered a promising future. The first company convenience store (Rutter's Farm Store) opened in York in February, 1968. Two more opened later that same year.

The success of the convenience stores led to the Dairy's expansion and also to the purchase of the Royale Dairy in Hanover... and yet another outlet for Rutter's products. Farm Store #4 opened in Hanover in 1969. By the end of the 1960s, over 45,000 quarts of milk were produced each day.