Family man buys Baxter grocery store

BAXTER – In less than a month Hometown Foods in Baxter will have new ownership and become Baxter Family Market – a family ran store owned by Andrew Havens.

Havens was introduced as the soon-to-be owner of the grocery store during the Aug. 10 city council meeting, where council members welcomed him to the community.

Havens said he is in the process of finding a home in Baxter, and is scheduled to gain ownership of the store Sept. 1.

“We’re looking forward to being a part of the community and welcoming everybody into our family,” Havens said.

Other than the name, Havens said he plans on changing a few other things including the expansion of senior citizen discount days – 5 percent off orders – from once a month to every Tuesday.

Havens currently lives in Norwalk, but has been making the drive to Baxter almost every day to familiarize himself not only with the store that will be in his hands, but with the people of the community.

Prices could drop and inventory will be tweaked a bit to accommodate what the needs are within the community.

Being in a smaller city like Baxter, he is hoping the word will spread about his changes to the store.

“The nice thing about being in a small town is word of mouth is so much more effective than any TV commercial,” Havens said. “So I’m hoping to make a really good first impression.”

Havens has worked in grocery stores his whole life, previously working under his father, who is an independent grocer, for 16 years as store manager.

“I’ve worked for huge, big corporations and little tiny family stores,” he said. “Obviously stores have to adapt to the times. Every store in every town is a little bit different. I’m just looking forward to finding the differences and serving the community.”

Prior to hearing about the opportunity to purchase the town’s grocery store, Havens had never been to Baxter. However, he likes the feeling of owning a business in a small town.

Havens and his wife plan to make the move to Baxter as soon as possible, and their two children will be attending Baxter Community Schools. Having a family-run store in Baxter, with the owner living just a few blocks away, means the success of the store will be shared with the community, he said.

“That’s the great thing. If you buy things in Baxter, the money is going to stay in Baxter,” Havens said. “It supports people who live in Baxter, and it supports their paychecks. Everything is going to stay right here in town.”

However, with this being the first store he has owned, he knows he will face some challenges.

“If I make a mistake I’m hoping people will bare with me, because there’s going to be a learning curve,” Havens said. “This is like the next level for me — challenge wise. I’m just eager to get started.”

Lyndon Johnson is the current owner of Hometown Foods and has been helping Havens transition into the ownership position. Baxter has been a Hometown Foods location since 2010.

Johnson said his decision to sell the Baxter store is due to financial reasons, but also because he believes Havens will make a great owner.

“The opportunity presented itself with a really good owner and that’s the big reason we sold it. We feel like Andy is going to be a great fit for the community and a great fit for the store,” Johnson said. “He’ll be able to do a lot of things we weren’t able to do because he will be on site.”

Johnson said he won’t be letting go of any of his six other stores, and the sale the Baxter store will give him the opportunity to look at expanding Hometown Foods in the near future.

Contact Alex Olp at aolp@jaspercountytribune.com