CROTHERSVILLE
There’s a new store down on Main Street.
On Thursday, Town Market Foodies officially opened for business at 201 E. Main St. in the heart of Crothersville.
It’s a welcome addition because the southeastern Jackson County community has been without a full grocery store since Tanner’s Market closed in 2012.
Now, customers can stop in to purchase fresh meat and produce, locally grown honey, hot and cold food at the deli, dairy products, frozen foods and a variety of other groceries. The store also has detergent, paper products, baby supplies, health and beauty items, pet food and small and large bags of ice.
“I’m excited because some of the older people that can’t get out of town, it will be so helpful for them,” assistant manager Cathy Morgan said.
“All of the people that were regulars before can come right back in and get what they need,” manager Amy Stepp said.
Morgan and Stepp both worked a year or two at Tanner’s Market, which opened in April 2009.
Since it closed, local residents could find some grocery items at Dollar General Store. Otherwise, they had to travel to Seymour or Scott County to find what they need.
“It was a hard hit for us,” Stepp said of the store’s closure. “The closest place was Seymour and Scottsburg. When you get off work or pick the kids up from school, you don’t want to drive all the way to Seymour. The community hurt.”
In February, Stepp learned someone was in the process of purchasing the building. She got in touch with that man, Joe Bohman, who has owned Pride Family Market in Hanover with his brother for 30 years.
Bohman, who lives near Greensburg, was interested in branching out to buy his own store.
“The words I used to my brother, ‘If I don’t do this, I’ll feel that I’ll regret it the rest of my life,'” Bohman said.
“It was something I had to do. I couldn’t sleep not doing it, and then thinking about doing it, I couldn’t sleep, either,” he said, laughing.
When work began on the store earlier this year, the shelving was still in place, but there was a lot of cleaning to do.
“We put, I’d say, 100 hours since February just in cleaning,” Stepp said.
Then it was a matter of updating the computers and getting the two cash registers set up, getting in touch with vendors, installing new lighting and having the health department do inspections.
Now entering the store and walking to the left, customers will find bread and fresh produce. As soon as it comes in, the store will sell Indiana-grown produce.
“I’m hoping we have Indiana ripe tomatoes here somewhere around the middle of June,” Bohman said.
Customers can then browse the dairy products before visiting the deli, which features lunch meats, cheeses, salads, sandwiches and hot foods. There will be a daily meal special.
“We won’t be frying right now, but that’s in the future,” Morgan said of the deli.
Later on, the store will offer fresh baked bread.
The southeast corner of the store features fresh-cut meats. Bohman is the meat cutter.
“The ground beef is excellent. It’s a premium ground beef,” Morgan said, noting the other meats include steaks, pork chops and cutlets.
There are 15 freezers along the west side of the store, and then a large selection of groceries fills the shelves in the middle of the building.
“We have enough variety that if you run across something you don’t have, odds are it’s going to be in here,” Stepp said.
A featured product is locally grown honey since Bohman is a beekeeper.
“Food is good for you. Really, that’s what the name should reflect,” Bohman said of the store. “The town market and foodies, we’re really, really going to push the food.”
The store is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week. Joining Bohman, Stepp and Morgan will be at least four other employees.
“As we build our crew and find the needs of the community, hours will change to feed the need,” Bohman said.
On the store’s Facebook page, many people have expressed excitement about Crothersville having a grocery store again.
“Everybody has been just totally wonderful to me and to us and to the store,” Bohman said. “I have not had a confrontation from anybody, and everybody has just been super-accepting of us.”
Morgan said she expects customers to be even more excited once they see what the store offers.
“We are proud of it,” she said.
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What: Town Market Foodies
Where: 201 E. Main St., Crothersville
Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week
Features: Fresh meat and produce, locally grown honey, hot and cold food at the deli, dairy products, frozen foods and a variety of other groceries. The store also has detergent, paper products, baby supplies, health and beauty items, pet food and small and large bags of ice.
Motto: “Down on Main Street”
Information: Call 812-793-0074 or search for Town Market Foodies on Facebook
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