Steve’s Grocery Returns To Health

DAYTON - For T.J. Hersey, running her father's grocery store in Dayton is a way for him to live on.

Hersey is now a thirdgeneration grocer in the town. Her grandfather, H.W. Stephenson, came to Dayton in 1938 from Portland, Ore., and he opened up a grocery in 1944. Hersey's father, Gail Bennett, took over in 1961 and ran the neighborhood grocery on Fourth Street until he passed away last year.

"He was a grocery man all his life in Dayton," Hersey said of her father. "(Keeping the store) is what we needed to do. If we shut down, it would all be over. We have to keep it running."

Steve's Grocery is a sweet, white store with a bulky old produce refrigerator and a display of photos of friends and family. Boxes of candy brighten the shelves. Knickknacks line the windowsill and make it feel very personal.

Hersey herself is a ray of sunshine, ready to strike up a conversation with every customer, wanting to meet their needs and be a part of their daily lives.

She is one of five children and Hersey said it was the most logical for her to pick up her life and move to Dayton to run the store when her father became ill. She had been a waitress in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, at a Chinese restaurant for many years.

Because her father passed away, she believed it was her duty to remain in Dayton, take care of her mother and help the business blossom. She still has a house and family in Coeur d'Alene.

Her siblings help out by ordering food, working a weekend each month so she can visit home and they recently power washed and repainted the store.

"We're all doing our thing to make it work," she said. "We're committed for the long run."

Hersey's family has a long history in Dayton. Her grandparents, the Stephensons, came to town and ran a gas station in the late 1930s. Their business grew to include the gas station and grocery store, cabin rentals and laundromat. As time went on, their grocery chain expanded. The stores were named "Steve's" because that was her grandfather's nickname.

Hersey's father, Gail Bennett, started his career as a box boy at a Safeway and later worked at the Stephensons' stores. There, he met the boss's daughter, fell in love with her and married her. Bennett became grocery store manager in 1961.

In 1973, Hersey's grandmother, Grace Stephenson, sold all of Steve's grocery stores. The current building on Fourth Street was available for sale in 1973, and even though it was much smaller than the other stores, Bennett made it work.

"It was like stuffing a 10-pound bag into a 5-pound bag," Hersey said.

Bennett also decided to keep the original name of "Steve's."

When Hersey stepped up to the plate in 2010, she said the store was dying. There is little need for a corner grocery anymore because larger stores can offer lower prices and most women have their own car to be able to go grocery shopping whenever they need, Bennett said.

But, Hersey sees a revival taking place. She said on the East Coast, more corner stores are opening up and doing well, not because of need, but because of nostalgia. She believes with the right touches, she can bring the little market back to life.

To turn it around, Hersey is keeping the store more clean and tidy than ever. Also, she is keeping grueling hours, 11 a.m. to midnight each day, so customers can stop in anytime. She now takes credit cards.

Hersey sells the most snack foods of all her offerings and caters to those who need a sugar fix. But, it is also a place to find kitchen and household staples if residents don't want to drive out of town to get what they need. And if Hersey doesn't have an item, she'll make sure to stock it for your next visit to the store, she said.

In addition to the new paint job, Hersey has spruced up the place by planting flowers and adding a sitting area in front of the store. She said she encourages neighborhood children to stop by, buy an ice cream and just "hang out. "

And on sunny summer days, that's just what they do.

In the period of about one hour, six young boys stop by the store at different times to purchase candy, a burrito and ice cream. One boy asks to use Hersey's phone to make a call.

"Of course. You know where to put the dime," she responds.

It is clear this is a special place for them. Each one who enters greets her warmly as though they have known her for years.

A group of boys dripping wet and smelling of chlorine stopped by for ice cream after swimming at the pool on a recent afternoon.

Ezequiel Garcia and his friends Travis Swan and Joel Gonzalez entered the store laughing and grabbed ice cream from a cooler.

"I come here as often as I can," Garcia said. "I always come here after I go to the pool."

Garcia said he likes the store because it offers Snickers ice cream bars and because Hersey is so nice and friendly.

In the beginning, she said it was tough to adjust to the hours and to pay the bills, but she's getting the hang of it.

"I'm not in the fetal position anymore," she joked. "It was hard to fill (dad's) shoes. They're bigger than a clown's."

She expects it will take 3 to 5 years to really have the business ship-shape. She may even be able to hire some help so she could return home more often. But, it will take time.

"It's like trying to turn the Titanic with an oar," she said.

But, customers are starting to notice her hard work. She said she has been receiving positive feedback about new aspects like the credit cards and the personal touches. What is most shocking to her is that much of the feedback is coming from the kids who frequent the store. She credits them for keeping the business alive.

"I think there's a lot of town spirit that helps support this store," she said.

Hersey has big plans for the store that is now taking center stage in her life. Most of all, she wants to make it a kind of museum, filled with newspaper clippings featuring the store's history to attract locals who grew up with Steve's Grocery.

Doing so will allow her father to live on, she believes. On the store's counter is a collage of photos and a news story about Bennett's history as a grocer. She said locals stop by and tell her stories about him all the time and it makes losing him a bit easier.

"It's a good things worked out the way they should," Hersey said. "I get to know my dad from the eyes of others. There are so many stories. As time goes on, the loss heals."