The country store is an institution that most people believe to have gone by the wayside. It still thrives in the rural South, not only as a source of food and the miscellaneous necessities of life, but as a gathering place for locals. It is also a kind of living community bulletin board, with news passed on by request. As you stop in for coffee or to buy bread and milk you can also get a referral for an honest tradesman, find out if someone had their baby, buy a raffle ticket to support the volunteer fire department, donate to the charitable fund set up for the neighbor who is undergoing cancer treaments and can no longer support his family, convey best wishes for someone's golden anniversary through the grapevine, or mobilize the community for a worthy cause.
Over the last year I've become a regular at Taylor's Food Store. It is on my way in to college, and I stop in four or five days a week for a cup of coffee, to check the selection of fresh produce from local farmers, to surprise my husband with some homemade cajun sausage, or just to chat and see how everyone is doing.
The store has been a community gathering point for over 98 years. In 1910, Mr. C.E. Dees established the Dees Co. General Merchandise store at 81 Main Street in Perkinston, MS. Customers could purchase everything from feed to comic books. In 1966, Elwood Taylor purchased the store from Mr. Dees and changed the name to Taylor's Food Store. Mr. Taylor continued the tradition of being family owned and operated for 30 years. In 1996, Mr. Taylor retired and his Daughter and Son-in-law, Marsha and Billy Smith took over the business.
In August 2006, Sonny and Jennifer Woodard purchased Taylor's Food Store and changed the name to JnS Market and Deli, Inc.--though it still says Taylor's Food Store over the door. Sonny and Jennifer are residents of Perkinston and active in their community. The deli at the back of the store offers fresh biscuits and sausage, ham, or bacon for breakfast, along with freshly brewed coffee. There are tables and chairs if you'd like to set a spell. The butcher case displays the very best hand-cut meat selection in Stone County, and there is a seasonal variety of fresh, locally-grown produce at the front of the store.
Everyone who enters can expect a warm down-home, southern-style welcome when they enter the store and a friendly "come see us again" good-bye when they leave.
When I stopped in this morning for some coffee and a chat, I was sincerely and deeply saddened to learn that Mr. Sonny will be closing the doors for good on August 22nd. The economic downturn of recent months has made it impossible for him to keep them open. I left the store feeling like a good friend has just died. I'm concerned for the Woodwards, of course. This is not an easy time to be changing careers. I hope that the future will go well for them.
There will also be a big empty space in the community. The Woodwards' shoes will be hard to fill. Not only did they provide goods and services; they genuinely cared about the wellbeing of Stone County and about every person who came through their doors, and managed to communicate that. They will be missed.
Over the last year I've become a regular at Taylor's Food Store. It is on my way in to college, and I stop in four or five days a week for a cup of coffee, to check the selection of fresh produce from local farmers, to surprise my husband with some homemade cajun sausage, or just to chat and see how everyone is doing.
The store has been a community gathering point for over 98 years. In 1910, Mr. C.E. Dees established the Dees Co. General Merchandise store at 81 Main Street in Perkinston, MS. Customers could purchase everything from feed to comic books. In 1966, Elwood Taylor purchased the store from Mr. Dees and changed the name to Taylor's Food Store. Mr. Taylor continued the tradition of being family owned and operated for 30 years. In 1996, Mr. Taylor retired and his Daughter and Son-in-law, Marsha and Billy Smith took over the business.
In August 2006, Sonny and Jennifer Woodard purchased Taylor's Food Store and changed the name to JnS Market and Deli, Inc.--though it still says Taylor's Food Store over the door. Sonny and Jennifer are residents of Perkinston and active in their community. The deli at the back of the store offers fresh biscuits and sausage, ham, or bacon for breakfast, along with freshly brewed coffee. There are tables and chairs if you'd like to set a spell. The butcher case displays the very best hand-cut meat selection in Stone County, and there is a seasonal variety of fresh, locally-grown produce at the front of the store.
Everyone who enters can expect a warm down-home, southern-style welcome when they enter the store and a friendly "come see us again" good-bye when they leave.
When I stopped in this morning for some coffee and a chat, I was sincerely and deeply saddened to learn that Mr. Sonny will be closing the doors for good on August 22nd. The economic downturn of recent months has made it impossible for him to keep them open. I left the store feeling like a good friend has just died. I'm concerned for the Woodwards, of course. This is not an easy time to be changing careers. I hope that the future will go well for them.
There will also be a big empty space in the community. The Woodwards' shoes will be hard to fill. Not only did they provide goods and services; they genuinely cared about the wellbeing of Stone County and about every person who came through their doors, and managed to communicate that. They will be missed.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment