I took a trip back in time last week when I was passing through Southwest City (Mo.) and remembered I hadn't put out anything to cook for supper and that I could no longer stop at any grocery stores in the northwest corner of Benton County. I saw Dave's Supermarket & Clothing as I drove down Main Street in Southwest City and decided to circle the block and go back to save an extra trip to Siloam Springs.
I had never stopped at Dave's before, though I had passed it on numerous occasions. I didn't know what to expect when I parked around on the north side and then walked up to the Main Street entrance, but I was pleasantly surprised. In fact, my shopping experience -- though I bought only a package of meat and some hash-brown potatoes -- took me back in time to my childhood years when my parents took us kids along on our monthly grocery-shopping trip to Rozier's Market in Perryville, Mo.
I suppose Rozier's was ahead of its time because you could find almost anything you needed there. As I remember it -- and that was a half century ago -- Rozier's was built off Main Street but on the top of a hill. When you walked in off Main Street, you were at the upper level and could shop for clothing. When you descended the stair case in the middle of the store to the next level down, you could shop for home appliances, housewares, hardware and toys. I still remember where the toy section was, though it took me some time of saving my 25 cents per month allowance to buy anything. And going down from that level just a few steps (maybe it was a short ramp, I can't remember) was the grocery store where my family bought most of its groceries.
Anyway, walking into Dave's kind of took me back to my childhood days because Dave's sold clothing and western wear in addition to selling groceries. It had one of the nicest boot sections I've seen in a while. And Dave's had a good selection of groceries, including fresh-cut meats. It was nice shopping in a store where everybody knew everybody, except me, of course, but I was treated like I belonged. I could have shopped a while just to see all the offerings of the Main Street market, but I had to get back on the road. I figure I might stop again on my next trip through and look a bit more. If Dave's wasn't so far from Gentry, I might consider heading northwest for groceries instead of south or east. I like the small home-town atmosphere.
Surprisingly, Rozier's Market is still in business in Perryville. (I looked it up to make sure I spelled the name right.) The family-owned business even has two other stores in neighboring towns along the Mississippi. I haven't been back to see the stores. The website photos don't show the old building I remember, but the site does still show offerings in hardware and electronics -- I'm not sure about clothing. The website boasts the stores as a 106-year-old family business where customers are known by name and the profits benefit the local communities and not some large corporation.
That, of course, makes me wonder about Gentry, Gravette and Decatur. We have hardware stores. Could the owners expand into groceries? Randy Bever said his family business once sold groceries. Or, if not, maybe Dave's Supermarket & Clothing would like to expand just a little bit -- but, hopefully, not too much -- and offer food and clothes in western Benton County. It would sure be nice to walk into a hometown store for groceries, jeans and a nice pair of cowboy boots.
Randy Moll is the editor of the Westside Eagle Observer. He may be contacted by email at [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 02/10/2016