New Owners of Memphis Grocery Store
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By Emily Bontrager
There is nothing quite like the friendly service at a local grocery store. Recently, J’s Foods “Poppy’s” Hometown Grocery was purchased by new owners, Troy and Joy Alexander of Memphis, Missouri.
Troy, 50, and Joy, 51, own Keith’s Cafe in Memphis and they are excited about keeping the local grocery store open for the community. Troy and Joy are a blended family and have six children. Troy grew up in Scotland County and Joy grew up in southeast Iowa.
J’s Foods has been open in Memphis, MO for many years. The store will now be called TJ’s Hometown Grocery.
“We just added a T in front of the J’s because the J stood for John Dodge. The Dodge family has run the grocery store for 48 years,” Joy explained.
“The loss of John eight years ago left his widow, Vicki, taking care of the grocery store.”
According to the Alexander’s, Vicki was ready to let someone else purchase the store after many years of running the grocery store.
A new sign for TJ’s Hometown Grocery was installed on Wednesday, March 13. The store’s first official opening day under new ownership was on Thursday, March 14.
The grocery store helps provide fresh produce, products, and other merchandise for shoppers in the area. The store also has a deli with daily specials and offers some catering as well.
You can look for the store’s specials in the Memphis Democrat or on TJ’s Hometown Grocery website, which will be created soon. You can also follow TJ’s Hometown Grocery on Facebook to see the daily deli specials.
“This is a real service oriented store. We still are one of the only places that carry out your groceries for you,” Troy said.
“It’s a great place for kids who are just starting out getting jobs and learning about work life,” Joy added.
The owners plan to make a few upgrades in the store and are excited to keep the local grocery store open for their current customers and future customers.
“We appreciate the years of loyalty here and hopefully that will continue in the years to come,” Troy said.
“The big thing in small towns is shopping local, because for every dollar spent, that gets turned over five times in the community. When we take those dollars elsewhere, obviously, you don’t get that. We just encourage anyone to shop local as much as they can.”
“We hope to continue to provide the best buys that we possibly can to our local community,” Joy said.
The main thing that Troy and Joy want to focus on is continuing to build on the great legacy that the Dodge family has created in the community.
“We want to thank Vicki and the Dodge family and all of the employees who are making the transition with us,” Troy said.
TJ’s Hometown Grocery is located at 467 Grand Avenue in Memphis, MO. The grocery store is open seven days a week from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Feel free to call the store at 660-465- 8597. You can follow TJ’s Hometown Grocery on Facebook or check out their website in the near future for upcoming specials.
