A hub for the Toutle community for more than eight decades, Drew's Grocery reopened its doors with new improvements while holding onto its old-fashioned spirit of service.
The multigeneration family-owned grocery store at 5304 Spirit Lake Memorial Hwy. marked its "soft" reopening Wednesday — three years, one month and one week since a fire destroyed the old store.
Greg Drew, whose grandparents opened the store in 1937, reflected on the three years of community support that fueled his and his daughter Julie Cox's efforts to rebuild the store and bring it back to what it was before the fire.
"It's been a three-year dream after a one-night nightmare," Drew said.
In front of the new store, Drew pointed to stonework on the front pillars to highlight rocks from his parents' and grandparents' rock collection — as well as from the original store.
"We had to incorporate the old store into it somehow," Drew said.
Cox pointed out new amenities at the store such as a greatly expanded produce department and walk-in beer cave. She said she hopes that the improvements can help Toutle residents get what they need without having to leave town.
"We're able to hit more of a market and keep people in town — especially the older customers," Cox said.
Cox carried a similar mentality when she opened Jules Snack Shack months after the fire, converting a mobile unit designed for offices outside construction sites into a temporary storefront. She remembers struggling to condense an 11,000-square-foot store into the roughly 1,100-square-feet temporary space.
"The girls would call it my daily Tetris game," Cox said.
With the main store open again, they can bring back old favorites such as the store's full-service deli — and the Cooper's Express fried chicken they served prior to the March 9, 2022, fire.
"Boy did people miss that," Cox said, adding that in the coming days they will slowly roll out deli favorites such as their homemade salads and sides. "Our hamburgers are amazing," she added.
Cox said a new phone system means people can call in orders to the deli by dialing the main store line at 360-274-8920.
Team effort
The building passed all its final inspections on Monday, and Cox said there have been numerous "very long days" — in as early as 5 a.m., out as late as 9 p.m. — getting the store ready. She and Drew said they couldn't have reopened without the help laying out the store from vendors such as URM Foodservice's store development team and Charlie's Produce.
Thanks to their help and other vendors, they have a full produce area and a corner of the store devoted to frozen foods.
Cox said URM spent weeks building the shelves and loading them, while Charlie's Produce helped the store select new refrigeration equipment for the produce section.
Scott Neuberger with Charlie's Produce highlighted the misting water system in the new produce department. He said the store paid extra for an automated spray system with nozzles on multiple layers.
He pointed to a mist sprayer beneath a midlevel shelf that Neuberger said will allow vegetables to stay fresher and last longer on the shelf.
As Neuberger checked equipment, Neuberger brought him a coffee. Cox said their vendors and their employees are "like family."
As are her customers, whose vehicles filled the parking lot Thursday morning. Cox said her reason for staying in the family business is simple.
"Our customers make us feel that we're the heart and soul of Toutle," Cox said.
