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Grocery |
HAYS, a family* owned and operated company that was established in Blytheville in 1935 has an illustrious history dating back to 1906 with the original founders, David and Mattie Hays King. They established King Mercantile in Long, Oklahoma, Indian Territory that year. General mercantile stores sold everything needed by a family including groceries, clothing and shoes, dry goods, notions, hardware, household items and furnishings, seeds, cotton sacks and farm machinery. The original “one-stop” shopping center!
David and Mattie added two more stores in 1913, in Gore and Webbers Falls, Oklahoma. Their family had grown during these years of business development and in 1918 they moved to Tahlequah, Oklahoma. There they embarked upon a new business venture—a furniture store but it wasn’t long before David sold it, stating, “Folks didn’t need to buy furniture as often as they did food and clothing.”