By Andrew de Souza

Harold’s Family Foods honoured for 50+ years of success

Apr 19, 2012 | 7:02 AM

It’s been a community institution for more than 50 years and now the legacy Harold’s Family Foods is being commemorated in a special book.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers is commemorating its own 50 year anniversary with a book. It’ll feature 50 independent grocery stores from around the country that demonstrate true entrepreneurial and community spirit.

From the beginning

Harold’s was opened in 1960 by Harold and Lillian Guy on the same plot of land it occupies today.

Harold said when it first opened, he expected business would just flood in. However, he was in for a big surprise.

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“We started in 1960 on this corner and certainly struggled for the first few years because we had no business, we were new in town,” he said.

“And then we just kept working and got involved in the community and got involved with customers and it grew from there.

It was a great lesson because it guided the growth of the business throughout the years, causing the Guy family to focus on attracting and keeping new customers through good customer service.

Over the years, that business model allowed for expansion after expansion and more success.But after 30 years in the game, disaster struck. In Dec., 1992, Harold’s Family Foods burnt down.

Harold said there was consideration to just call it a career but said it was about keeping the family that was Harold’s Family Foods alive.

“There was never any consideration of not replacing or not rebuilding,” said Harold. “Because you know you have a whole staff of people that you think of as family and you think, what are they going to do?”

“So we thought, if we could do it, let’s do it again—and that’s what we did.”

While the business continued on afterwards, it wasn’t too long before it was time to retire and the reins were handed to Harold’s son Byron and his wife Heather.

Even still, retirement is a loose term, since Harold still mans a desk in the upstairs office and comes in every day to help out.

“There’s lots of times I just drop in to talk with old customers or have a coffee with them and that’s kind of my life right now,” he said.

For Byron, it was an easy transition to owner since he had been working at the store since he was 14.
But unlike his father who had the challenges of opening a business, there’s a whole new set of problems, such as competing with big-box international stores.

In the face of that though, Byron stays positive. He says the store will continue to operate because of the way they treat their customers.

“We’ll just continue giving service, service and service,” he said.

“That’s the same thing I learned when I was 14 years old. You’ve just got to service the heck out of everyone that comes through the store.”

The CFIG’s book will be released this weekend, and an official presentation event will take place in the summer.

adesouza@panow.com