The above was once an historic Big Four landmark restaurant/beer joint that opened circa 1940. Its name was the "Beer Garden" and was owned and operated by Abe and Bessie Kaufman of Kimball. By the late 1940's the Kaufman's began selling just gas and groceries. The store sat across Rt. 52 from the exit of the Starland Drive-in theater in Big Four. In 1950 Mary Richardson began working for the Kaufman's and when the Kaufman's retired in 1970, Mary and her husband Harvey bought the store and named it Mary's Grocery. Over the years Mary's Grocery sold canned goods, bread, cakes, snack foods, candy and even dog food along with gas. But what Mary's Grocery was probably more noted for was its delicious cheese and lunch meats that came in the long rolls. You could purchase a half roll or a whole roll of the lunch meat if you so desired. The story has it that many of the coal miners from Superior and Maitland frequently stopped here to purchase the lunch meat and cheese.
I can just visualize them deep down in the mine and headed to the "dinner hole" on their lunch break. It had to be a real treat to open up that dinner bucket and bite into one of those sandwiches made with the lunch meat and cheese from Mary's Grocery.
Harvey and Mary Richardson knew that many coal miner families ran low on cash before payday rolled around. So, they offered credit to their customers for gas and groceries and let folks pay on their charge account once a month or when they received their payday. Unfortunately, Harvey Richardson passed away in 1982 and Mary, at the age of 64, continued operating Mary's Grocery for another ten years before retiring in 1992.
The building remained vacant for several years and when the McDowell County flood of 2001 occurred, the building was so damaged that it had to be torn down. This historic landmark may now be gone, but for many of the patrons that once stopped here, it still holds vivid memories. Many thanks to Pat Richardson Bell for giving me the information to put this tribute together. It was her parents who owned and operated this store.
Written & Provided By: Buddy French
