Grocery store under new owners

Lynch’s Super Market will operate under new ownership beginning Friday, April 1. The Dungy family of neighboring Maysville recently purchased Gallatin’s only grocery store from Steve and Sandy Evans.

The new Dungy’s Market in Gallatin will be owned by Bob and Debi Dungy and their son, Jeremy, and his wife, Rikki. Jeremy will manage the store. Rikki will be the head bookkeeper. For the past nine years, Rikki has worked as bookkeeper for a family business in St. Joseph.

“We’re really looking forward to a new challenge, and Gallatin is a nice community, much like Maysville,” Bob says. “We will continue Steve and Sandy’s philosophy that made their business successful, by providing quality service and good prices to our customers.”

Dungy’s Market will continue much of the same product lines, including Shurfresh labels, from the same warehouse supplier.

The Dungy family has been in the grocery business for more than 40 years at Maysville. Bob’s father, Elbert, and Dorothy and Leroy Todd purchased Merrigan’s Market in 1963. Six years later, Elbert bought out Todd’s interest in the store.

Bob grew up in the grocery business, working in every department. Like his father, Jeremy also grew up in the grocery business. He worked part-time during his high school years. Jeremy then joined the U.S. Navy and served four years. He also served during the Iraqi Freedom Operation and during the 9-1-1 crisis.

Since returning from active duty, Jeremy has worked at Green Hills Supermarket and the Sack-N-Save Supermarket in St. Joseph.

Bob said that the decision to purchase Lynch’s Supermarket came over the course of several months.

“We’ve been friends for quite awhile, as we buy from the same warehouse,” Bob says. “He was wanting to retire, and Jeremy and Rikki were wanting to get back to this area. So, we came up with a deal that I think will work out well for all concerned.”

Jeremy and Rikki are making Gallatin their home and plan to become active in the community. Rikki grew up in St. Joseph, where she has lived all her life. She is looking forward to small-town living.

“I’m real excited about raising our baby (3-month-old Garrett Owen) in a small town,” Rikki says. “It’ll be fun getting to meet a lot of new people and making new friends.”

Jeremy echoed his wife’s sentiments: “We’re looking forward to serving the people of the Gallatin area and we’ll do everything we can to fulfill their grocery needs. We invite everyone to stop by the store and introduce themselves to us.”

The ownership change marks the end of a era in the Gallatin business community. Four generations of the Lynch family have operated a grocery store in Gallatin. In fact, local historian David Stark says that the very first business license to sell merchandise in Daviess County was issued to Patrick Lynch in December, 1836 (a $30 fee for six months).

Lewis and Elsie Stout Lynch worked a produce store in Gallatin for nearly 50 years. Jack Lynch, Sandy’s father who now resides in retirement at Springfield, was born just down the street from this produce store. Jack and his late wife, Dorothy, became the third generation of Lynchs to operate a Gallatin business when they purchased a small grocery store here in April, 1954. The little corner store was remodeled into a larger brick building (most recently housing Joni’s Restaurant) on Park Street, during the years when this was Highway 6 and the main roadway leading into town.

Jack and Dorothy opened the store of their dreams – a new supermarket with a new parking lot – just two blocks from their original location to accommodate a newly-routed Highway 6/13. This is the same location of the business today.

Lynch Super Market passed to the fourth generation in 1981 when Jack and Dorothy sold their business to their daughter Sandy and son-in-law Steve Evans, who had been a part of the grocery store for 10 years.

Over the years that Sandy and Steve operated the business, over 3,000 square feet of space was added to make the store total between 12,000 and 13,000 square feet. As the business grew, the payroll expanded to as many as 30 persons – with many youth gaining their first business experience as sackers and stockers over the years.

In 1987 Steve and Sandy expanded to add a bakery-deli, and then expanded again in 1995 to include a sit-down area with dining booths and public restrooms. The Evans introduced computers, faxes, credit cards and bar-coding checkout stands into the business and kept pace with the latest advancements, including the use of laser gun readings to send orders digitally over telephone lines to the warehouse for restocking purposes.

The Evans have announced no immediate plans other than to enjoy their family in retirement.

“We’re so grateful to our customers and employees for their loyalty through the years,” Steve says. “We are blessed to have raised our family here and been an active part of this close-knit community.

“Sandy and I want to thank everyone for the love and support we have received all these years and we know the Dungys will also be made to feel welcome. They will be a wonderful new addition to Gallatin.”