Last updated on December 11th, 2017 at 04:33 pm
Walt Churchill’s Market (WCM) will celebrate 100 years of serving the Toledo, Ohio, community on Saturday, April 15. This year also may mark another milestone, as the two-store operator looks to perhaps open a third store and fill “a gourmet food niche once occupied by The Andersons,” according to The Toledo Blade.
The Churchill family opened the doors of its first market on April 15, 1917— becoming the first Toledo-based grocery store. Two brothers, Jim and Joe, saw a need in their community for a single location where families could find the groceries they needed, without having to brave the long trip downtown. The Churchill brothers started by driving to the Erie Street market every morning to purchase produce, haul it back to the store and stock the shelves in their family-run and -managed market.
Joe’s grandson, Walt Churchill, president and CEO of WCM, will cut a cake and serve ice cream on Saturday at both of the company’s stores. The first cake will be cut at noon at the Perrysburg location; the second at 1:30 pm at the Maumee (Briarfield) location.
“What does 100 years mean to me? By golly…it’s a good start,” said Walt Churchill. “People have an association with food…and everyone has a different idea about food, but the constant has been ‘the customer doesn’t need us, we need them.’ We have a long history of taking care of the customer, and we would like to thank our customers for getting us to where we are today.”
