Doniphan County grocery store receives national award

Mar. 2—John's Market, a family-owned grocery store in Doniphan County, was recently named one of the 25 Outstanding Independents in the U.S. for 2023 by Progressive Grocer.

"Personally, I was in shock," said John Simpson, co-owner of John's Market, located at 325 E. Locust St. in Troy, Kansas. "I didn't dream that our small store would even have a chance in a nationwide contest like this, but we were overjoyed."

"We were very touched by people taking the time to nominate us," said Laurie Simpson, co-owner of John's Market. "Even if nothing more came of it, just hearing the encouragement from our community probably meant more than anything."

The Simpsons said they were thankful that a family friend took the time to nominate John's Market.

"She just took the bull by the horns and she wrote the essay for us," Laurie Simpson said. "She got letters from community members saying such wonderful things about us and we appreciate that so much. We feel very grateful and thankful."

This week, the couple traveled to the National Grocers Association Show in Las Vegas to receive the award.

"It was interesting because there were grocery owners from all over the country," John Simpson said. "We met several from New York, Ontario, Southeast Kansas, Texas and just everywhere in the country. It's nice to get together and listen to their stories and talk about new ideas."

John's Market not only has a rich family history but has also been a grocery store within the Doniphan County community for nearly 60 years.

"It was built in 1964 by my father, John Simpson, and before that, he purchased the ownership from a store up on the town square from my grandfather," John Simpson said. "My wife and I took it over in about 1990 and we enjoy working with the public and dealing with the grocery industry."

This independently-owned grocery store is one of the main food resources for the rural community.

"The grocery store, like a school, is kind of a cornerstone of the community," John Simpson said. "People come here to meet and greet and fulfill their needs on groceries. Once you lose your store, it's a major impact. It affects basically everything. A lot of areas around us are feeling that problem right now because of the economy. It's hard for the small guy to compete anymore."

Despite all the challenges that can come from owning a local business, Laurie Simpson said it is the community that makes all the work worth it.

"We were both born and raised here, so we're invested heavily in our community," Laurie Simpson said. "Our kids went to school here. We went to school here and we love this. We love our community. We love the small-town atmosphere. You can't ask for better people than living Doniphan County."

Nevertheless, John Simpson emphasized that they couldn't have received this award without the help and support of many people.

"We would like to thank God for blessing us, our employees for working so hard and the continued support of our community," John Simpson said.

To view the official nomination, visit www.progressivegrocer.com.

Sara Rooney can be reached at sara.rooney@newspressnow.com.