Johnstown still has a family grocery, and its timeline counts five generations of the Hays family. According to the store’s own history, Thurman and Louisa Hays moved from Indiana to Johnstown in 1929 and bought out the grocery stock and men’s furnishings of an existing shop, the start of what was then called Hays Mercantile. Their son Chet began as the delivery boy at 13.
Five generations, two stores
The store’s timeline runs from Thurman and Louisa through Chet Hays, third-generation grocer Rick Hays and the brothers Ryan, Neal and Russell Hays, and it names Lauryn Hays, Russell’s daughter, as the fifth generation. In 2001 Hays Market opened a second store in Berthoud. The stores include a meat department and a bakery.
Good to know
- Johnstown: 201 Johnstown Center Drive, (970) 587-4658.
- Berthoud: 919 Mountain Ave., (970) 532-0257.
- Hours as posted: 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week; closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and Easter.
- In Johnstown for dinner and a show? Les Misérables runs at Candlelight Dinner Playhouse through Nov. 15.
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