Jan 6, 2017 3 min read

Minteer’s Market, which has served Claysville residents’ grocery needs for generations, will officially close Jan. 14.

The announcement came recently from current owners Deana and Duffy (Wes) Parry on the store’s Facebook page.

Wes Parry said last week that the decision to close the store, which he and his wife purchased in November 2013, was necessitated by a variety of factors, including last year’s downturn in the oil and gas industry, the state’s increase in tobacco tax and changes in the nearby retail landscape.

The shuttering comes after the Parrys’ August closing of Minteer’s Too, a coffee/deli/ice cream shop they operated across the street from the market. Parry said when they closed Minteer’s Too, they shifted some of its deli operations to the store in an effort to shore up resources to keep the store going.

Despite the efforts, “the store was starting to see a steady decline” in revenue, Parry said.

The first change locally, he said, was when Coen Oil took over the local Exxon station and converted it to one of its Ruff Creek Market units.

“That hit us a little bit, but not too much,” he said, adding that in the spring, he was doing business with far fewer oil and gas workers because of the downturn that began at the end of 2015.

Next came the opening of a Dollar General store just outside town.

“That hurt us,” Parry said.

The final blow was the introduction of a higher tax on tobacco products, which according to Parry accounted for about 40 percent of the store’s sales. With the additional levy, he said the store’s profit of 5 percent on the products dropped to 4 percent.

“We hung on as long as we could, but since the end of October, we’ve been a little behind.”

The Parrys even considered turning the market into more of a restaurant operation, looking into the purchase of a broasted chicken business, but rejected the idea as the store’s profitability continued to decline.

“Margins are tight” in the grocery business, Parry said. “You don’t have to lose a lot of sales before it starts to cut into your bottom line.”

Parry said the store is selling many items at discounted prices to clear as much inventory as possible prior to the closing.

The Parrys said in the Facebook post they intend to put the building up for sale, but are also open to leasing the store space and garage.