It’s official — the burg is getting a new grocery store! Now how awesome is that?
Back in the day, the burg was home to not one, not two, but THREE grocery stores. Then there was two. One of the two that remained in the 70’s was owned by my family. The new store is going into the very building that we operated in so many years ago. A lot has changed since then, and the old building is getting a facelift as well:
This new business is the talk of the town, and I sure hope that everyone supports it by actually buying groceries there (instead of making the 7 or so mile trip south to Wal-mart). I can remember when the building on the corner of Main and US 31 was McKain’s Market. I can remember when the IGA was slated to come to town and our family was pretty sure that we would starve. We were all but ready to be gobbled up by the big fancy store that could offer discount prices that we simply couldn’t compete with — but even our family wasn’t counting on the qualities of Dallas McKain.
The first few weeks, we waited for our loyal customers to come, but instead saw their cars parked in the lot of the IGA on our way home. I can remember Henry Shaneyfelt was the only customer we had one full day — I was just a kid, but he held a special place in my heart after that forever.
It took about 3 weeks for our regulars to begin trickling in — longer for those who had credit and could get their staples right down the road without paying a past due bill. Still, the big bad IGA didn’t beat McKain’s Market. The doors didn’t close and we didn’t starve. My Dad did what he did best…treated everyone special and sold the best cuts of meat available anywhere.
I can’t wait to see what the new owners do best — and how supportive the community is of their efforts.