But Henderson boasted dozens of neighborhood markets as well in the 1950s, especially in older parts of town.
Some will remember Audubon Market on Powell Street, Burdon's Market on Madison, Cavanah Grocery on Mill, Chapman's Thrifty Market on Powell, Gish's Grocery on Loeb, Hatchett's Grocery on North Alves, Pleeze-U Market on North Elm, Royster's Grocery on Atkinson and many more. And country stores operated in every community out in the county.
My colleague Sharon Alvey recalled, as a child, being sent on foot by her mother on shopping errands to Odom's Grocery on Pringle Street; prices were higher there than at a supermarket, but her family patronized the little market because Sharon's father drove the family car to the mine in Union County where he worked — and because they could charge groceries there, which was useful during times when her dad would be laid off from the mine.
But change was coming. In 1958, the Lambert family sold Red Front Stores to out-of-town owners who changed the name to Sureway.
Kroger relocated to what was described as a "huge" new location — a 14,000-square-foot store in the then-new Eastgate Shopping Center on outer Second Street in 1959.
But Sureway commanded the market, building shiny new stores in later years and giving Quality Stamps that shoppers could redeem for merchandise.
Our files don't provide the exact dates, but by my arrival here in 1980, Kroger and A&P had both left the Henderson market. Sureway occupied the former Kroger location in Eastgate (which is now the Sears Home Store), while Del's Super Key Foods had taken over the A&P building downtown (now Tomblinson Funeral Home).
Wesselman's Supermarket and Winn-Dixie took turns operating in Old Orchard Shopping Center, but they lasted only a few years.
Dick Floyd of D&M had opened Dick's Finer Food supermarkets on Marywood Drive and South Green Street, and the Floyd family had opened a second D&M in a former Red Front/Sureway store on North Green.
Only a few neighborhood markets remained in 1980, including Fifth Street Market, Main Street Market, Larry's Countryview Market and Tapp's First Street Market. But while independent markets were vanishing, a new phenomenon was taking hold: the arrival of convenience stores.
By 1980, seven Kwik-Pic stores had opened around town along with a Convenient Food Mart and the first E-Z Shop.
While not traditional groceries, they would sell enough milk, bread, soft drinks, beer, cigarettes and other products to pull revenues from both supermarkets and liquor stores. Thornton's and others would follow.
In 1990, a Buehler's Buy-Low opened in the then-new Gardenside shopping center, while Sav-a-Lot was operating a discount grocery in a former Sureway on South Green.
The increased competition took a toll. East 'N Foods (formerly Dixie Mart) closed in late 1997, followed by sister store North 'N Foods (formerly Dick's) in 2000.
The most powerful competitor to date arrived on the scene Jan. 22, 2007, when Wal-Mart opened its 202,739-square-foot Supercenter, the biggest store ever here — and it featured a full supermarket.
The following year, Houchens Industries — which in 2004 had acquired Sureway and its parent, Food Giant — purchased Buehler Foods.
That meant Houchens owned two supermarkets just one mile apart along the same road. That proximity, along with the pressures of competing with a Wal-Mart Supercenter, were too much; the Buehler store closed in 2009 and its building remains empty.
That same year, grocer Tom Floyd reopened the then-closed D&M on Clay Street as Tom's Market. But most neighborhood groceries had vanished along with at least half of the county's country stores.
Yet for all that turbulence, there are still new companies vying for a slice of Henderson's grocery pie.
The Kroger-affiliated Ruler Foods discount supermarket chain opened a store in a portion of the former Wal-Mart store in Audubon Village on Thursday.
A Casey's General Store is under construction on North Green.
Meanwhile, on U.S. 41-South, construction has begun on a Dollar General Market, with expanded grocery items including frozen foods, dairy, fresh produce and fresh meat.
And as if to illustrate how dynamic the grocery business is, when that building is completed, Dollar General will be moving out of one of its existing locations: the former East 'N Foods store — formerly Dixie Mart — around the corner.
