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From cattle to grocery aisles, Cherry’s celebrates 100 years

By CINDY LADAGE
Illinois Correspondent

GIRARD, Ill. — The end of May was the kickoff for a yearlong celebration for the Cherry family and those patrons served by Cherry’s IGA.
A cookout and prizes began events celebrating 100 years in business.
The Lions Club served chops and the Cherry family offered free hot dogs. Meat for clients was a fitting tribute, said owners Jim and Dawn Cherry since, “We are known as the home of fine meats since 1908,” Jim explained.
This business began as an agricultural endeavor and still has roots deep in the Girard community. “This is just the beginning of our activities,” said Paige Wheeler, the store director.
The secret to a healthy bottom line and successful business for the Cherrys are great employees. “I am proud of the people that work here,” Jim said. “They are customer-service oriented. One of the biggest things I look for is people that like the public and are easy to work with. From an owner perspective, that is the biggest benefit to the place.”
For this family business, the employees are considered part of the Cherry clan. The operation began with cattle and today, that focus on fine meats is still Cherry IGA’s fame. The store’s history goes way back; the business began as a family farming operation centering on cattle.
“My dad (Phil Cherry) told me that this started out as a family farm located east of Girard in 1908,” Jim said. “They shipped a lot of cattle and legend has it that it was the largest cattle operation between Chicago and St. Louis.”
The farm was expanded into a meat market by Jim’s grandfather, Clarence Cherry. Clarence and his wife, Prudence, originally supplied the meat market with beef from the family farm. Jim said the market was run by Clarence with assistance from his two sons, Phil and Bob, until Clarence’s sudden death in 1937.
This curtailed Phil’s education at the University of Illinois. He stayed home to run the family business and was later joined by his younger brother. The brothers held the reins of the Cherry market until they both were part of the war effort during World War II, when the store was run by Oakel Garst. It was the only time this family business was run by non-family.
After the war, the brothers again took over the store and in 1950, moved to a bigger location in Girard. “This was a bigger building on the square,” Jim said. The larger building allowed the meat market to expand into a supermarket.
At that time, the family decided to concentrate their efforts on the store, selling the farm and beginning to bring in meat from nearby quality packing houses between St. Louis and Decatur. “The business went from a cattle business to a storefront, to a supermarket,” Dawn said.
Seventeen years later, Phil moved the business to its current location, a 6,500 square-foot building on the edge of Girard. According to an article in the Girard Gazette, “(Phil) marketed new products including his concoction of dry seasonings that he patented as Girard Barbeque Spice (now known as Phil Cherry’s BBQ spice.)”
It was the Bicentennial, 1976, when Jim graduated from Milliken University in Decatur, Ill. “I started out to be a city manager,” he said, but instead he decided to work in the family business – a decision he has never regretted.
Over the years, Jim worked his way up and learned the business from his father. They again expanded in 1978, and over the years, two brothers-in-law – Terry Hopkins and Paul Sidwell – joined the team. Hopkins heads up the meat department and Sidwell runs the produce section.
Jim and Dawn took over the store from his parents and over the years, Cherry’s became an IGA and included a deli, a bakery kitchen and other add-ons. Jim said they are beginning another expansion and are working with their wholesaler, Super Valu, which also supplies Shop-N-Save and County Market stores.
“Business is booming,” he added.
To find out what is going on down in Girard, call Wheeler at Cherry’s IGA, at 217-627-2351.

6/18/2008