Grocery, destroyed by E. Ky. flood and owned by Black woman who's been there 50 years, to reopen Saturday - Entrepreneur Generations

It was the only grocery for miles around. (Image from "East Kentucky Flood")

The Rural Blog doesn't usually run notices of non-media business openings, but we're making an exception in this case because Saturday's reopening of Isom IGA between Whitesburg and Hazard, Kentucky, will be an important milepost in the region's recovery from the flooding that destroyed the grocery.

The tragic story of the supermarket's owner, 67-year-old Gwen Christon, who has spent 50 years working in it or to rebuild it, brought outside help, and a determination to reopen, with the help of her son, Simon, who decided two years ago to follow in her footsteps. She told the makers of the "East Kentucky Flood" documentary that she worked 50 years to buy the store and pay the mortgage, and Simon said “I’m next in line to work another 50 years and get it paid up.”

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After announcing that she planned to reopen April 1 (a goal she will meet Saturday), Gwen Christon said of the region, “This is our home. This is our people, and we have to stick together. . . . I think we can come back stronger. I think we can come back more together.”

Isom is in Letcher County, where one-half of 1 percent of the 20,000 or so residents are African Americans. Gwen and Arthur Christon and their son Simon are three of them.

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/ls2Orhu Grocery, destroyed by E. Ky. flood and owned by Black woman who's been there 50 years, to reopen Saturday - Entrepreneur Generations

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