‘Mom and pop’ calling it quits at Mt. Olive Grocery

Published 11:30 am Wednesday, June 23, 2010

After owning and running Mt. Olive Grocery for 22 years, Doug and Ann Howse are selling the store.

“I’m tired of putting up with Jefferson County’s government and all their nit-gritty picky stuff,” said Doug. He cited constant fees and over-the-top regulations by the county government as reasons for selling the store.

The Howses said they plan to sell their house as well and move out of the county. But, they said there will be plenty they miss.

“We’ve made friends for years. We’re going to miss a lot of people,” Dough said. “I’ve watched many a kid grow up over 22 years.” They said they’ve enjoyed running the store despite their recent problems with county government. They also said business has been good except for a slight decline in recent years.

“You can’t ask for better customers,” said Doug.

Doug described his store as more of a hangout than a place to buy groceries.

“Usually at about 11:30 a group of guys comes just to shoot the bull,” he said. “It’s just local… people don’t come in here to buy a week’s worth of groceries. We don’t sell alcohol or magazines or anything like that.”

The Howses also let customers run a tab at the store while they were the owners.

“There are good ones and bad ones. Some you eat and some you collect,” said Ann. She also said the company that bought the store will disappoint many customers if they don’t continue the tab policy.

The Howses don’t have enough money to retire on, but Doug said he wouldn’t try to open another store.

“I like to eat, so I’ll have to do a little something,” he said.

The Howses sold Mt. Olive Grocery to Andalusia Enterprises, a Birmingham oil company.