NORTHFIELD — After spending its last 67 years in the Barnes family, Northfield Food Mart, located at 74 Main St., is changing hands.
The local grocery will change hands on Monday when it is scheduled to be sold to Jody James, 37, of Greenfield.
James, who owns rental property in Buckland and Holyoke, stumbled across the business while searching for more rental property. The building contains Northfield Food Mart, eight apartments, a barber shop and a currently vacant restaurant, James said.
Although James has been working in the restaurant business for 15 years, owning a grocery store will be an entirely new experience for him.
“It seemed like a good career move for me at this point in my life and I thought it would be nice to own my own business,” he said. “It also looked like there was some room for growth, so I’m excited for the possibilities that could happen there with some hard work and putting a little money into it.”
However, James said that he doesn’t intend to make any drastic changes to the longstanding business. James is keeping all the same staff of five and the IGA sign, which has been on the front of the building since the store opened in August 1949. The sign signifies that the store was once part of the Independent Grocer’s Alliance, an organization that was founded in 1926 to unite independent grocers across the U.S. and ensure that local, family-owned grocery stores remained strong in the face of growing chain competition.
“(James) doesn’t plan on coming in and revamping everything,” said Megan Werden, whose father William Barnes, 66, of Bernardston, has owned Northfield Food Mart since 1984. “He’s very respectful of what my dad has done over the years.”
Werden, who has helped her father to run the store, and Barnes himself will consult with James during the early stages of the transition.
“It’s meant to be a very smooth transition,” Werden said.
James said that he wants to grow the business by providing a broader selection of local produce, meats and sandwiches. He also wants eventually to start opening the market at 6 a.m. as opposed to 8 a.m., while offering coffee and breakfast items to expand breakfast sales.
Other than Mim’s Market and a few restaurants, Northfield Food Mart is the only place in town where residents can purchase food. Otherwise, residents need to travel out of town, often to the closest Big Y and Stop & Shop in Greenfield.
The building originally came up for sale in March 2015, and James has been under contract since July 2015. Now, after almost a year, he expects to close the deal Monday, and Northfield Food Mart will open Tuesday under his ownership.
“No one expressed interest in running the store,” Werden said to explain why Northfield Food Mart would not be passed down in the family. Barnes’ two children, Werden and Jessica Barnes, both have careers of their own, as a nurse and teacher, respectively, and his oldest grandchild is only 16 years old.
As for Barnes, he intends to enjoy a retirement full of golf and an upcoming trip to Las Vegas.
“I know everyone who walks in the door. They understand that it’s time for me to retire,” Barnes said of his customers.
Northfield Food Mart opened in 1949 under the ownership of Leonard Barnes — William Barnes’ father — and his brother Wally Stange. When Leonard Barnes died in 1983, his wife Mavis managed the store temporarily until William Barnes and his wife Prudy took over in 1984. William Barnes purchased the rest of the building, that included apartments and additional commercial spaces, in 2006.
“There’s a lot of anxious people because (Northfield Food Mart has) been in the family so long,” Werden said of how customers have reacted to the news of the sale. “I think their minds will be at ease once they meet Jody.”
“Older people who have been coming here for years are sad to see (the business) leave the family,” said Sharon Parsons, manager of Northfield Food Mart. Others, she added, are excited to see what the future holds for the store.
James intends to hold a grand reopening celebration in several weeks, though Northfield Food Mart will be open in the meantime.