Here’s 50 years of good food to you!

Lynch Supermarket, located on Hwy. 13 in north Gallatin, celebrated its 50th anniversary this past week. Owners Steve and Sandy Evans say they have much to be thankful for with a loyal customer base which has seen third generation customers walk through the doors.

“We are constantly striving to compete with the big grocery chains,” says Sandy. The store has survived because it offers that neighborly feeling of the local store. Sandy says it’s an invaluable commodity in the eyes of its patrons — “Our advantage is knowing the people who come in the door.”

The store has seen a lot of changes since the day Jack Lynch purchased a corner store in Gallatin in 1954.

“Fifty years ago, Mom and Day would never believe we would be renting movies or have a sit down deli,” says Sandy. “The store started out with Mom and Dad and a butcher. Now we have 30 employees.”

Jack Lynch was born in Gallatin on May 21, 1919, the son of Lewis and Elsie Stout Lynch. The home where he and his sisters were born was just down the street from his father’s produce store where his parents worked for nearly 50 years. Jack became the third generation of Lynches to operate a Gallatin business when he and Dorothy purchased the small grocery store in April, 1954.

Together, they began an enterprise that was to find them working side by side for nearly 30 years, seven days a week. The store stayed open from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m.

“When Dad bought the store, he thought that in order to compete, he had to keep the store open longer hours,” Sandy recalls. “Mom and Dad ate in shifts, they rarely had lunch together and they ate dinner when they got home that evening. It was work, eat supper and go to bed.”

Sandy says it truly was a Mom and Pop store. She and her sisters worked in the store as stockers and checkers while they were growing up.

In 1969, Jack and Dorothy opened the store of their dreams — a new supermarket on a new parking lot, in a new location (two blocks from the original), to accommodate newly-routed Highways 6 and 13.

Lynch Supermarket was passed to a new generation in 1981, when Dorothy and Jack sold their business to their daughter and son-in-law, Steve and Sandy Evans, who had been a part of the market since 1971. Dorothy and Jack retired in 1982.

“While Steve and I work long hours, my parents worked 12 hours a day, seven days a week. Years after they retired, they recalled those years as being the happiest days of their lives.”

Over the years, 3,000 square feet has been added to the store for a total of 13,000 feet. The grocery store expanded in 1987 to add a bakery deli and in 1995 expanded again to include a sit down area with booths and tables and public restrooms.

The introduction of a Deli helped the supermarket compete with the McDonalds and Hardees for the food dollar.

“Our deli is a cross between fast food and a sit down restaurant,” says Sandy. “We realize as the economy gets tighter our customers have to make the most of every dollar. We try to stay as competitive in price, as much as we can be, for a small independent supermarket.”

Steve says that as far as dry goods, the grocery store has not changed a lot. Perishables have changed.

“Bagged salads, bagged potatoes, the convenience food aspect,” he says. “People don’t cook great big meals like they used to. Time is a major factor for families today.”

From checkout stands to bar codes, things change to provide faster service

Sandy says, “Like any small business we’ve added computers, faxes, credit cards. My Mom and Dad would never have thought people would someday buy groceries with credit cards. Dad sent orders to the warehouse by checking off items on a piece of paper. Now we do that with a laser gun and it is sent over the phone lines.”

Lynch Supermarket has given a lot of young people their first job.

“We’ve had some wonderful employees,” says Sandy. “We’ve had the opportunity to encourage high school kids to learn about business, how to work for somebody and do an interview and be responsible for time management. Sometimes they stop in and say hello after they’ve moved away. They tell us we gave them their first job, and it really made a difference in their lives.”

“That to me is one of the greatest joys,” says Steve. “To see the young people blossom and bloom and grow. They start out bashful, won’t talk. Next thing they’re up there taking care of business. Several come back and say it’s the best thing they ever did.”

Steve adds that it’s not just the young people who benefit from working in the store.

“They get a different feel for what’s going on out there,” he says. “Adults, too, have a greater appreciation for retail. I had a lady who started working for us just last week say she would never get upset with a checker again.”

Keeping the business competitive is an ongoing challenge for the independent grocery which must change and adapt to keep up.

“We’re going to always be struggling to stay in competition with the Wal-Marts and the Targets and I don’t see that getting any easier,” said Sandy.

Lynch Supermarket celebrated their anniversary giving away groceries, gift certificates and a mountain bike. They look forward to serving even more generations of Gallatin families in the future.

“We appreciate all the patronage down through the years,” says Steve. “We’d like to tell everybody thanks for 50 years.”