Loutre Market

Bob and Carol Johnson left Kansas City in 1962 to help Bob's brother-in-law, Junior Collins, with a service station that Junior built on the west side of Highway 19 at the intersection of Highway 94. Bob had been working for a food broker and supermarket in Kansas City and was looking for the opportunity to start a business when Collins requested his help. Bob ran the service station while Collins put up a building next to the station to house the original Loutre Food Market. The first day of business for Loutre Food Market was on June 10, 1963. The store was an instant success as Bob and Carol didn't even get the doors open before they sold their first item. The night before the store opened, someone stopped by and bought a block of salt. They always kept blocks of salt in the store from that day forward.