Risen From The Ashes
E.W. James & Sons turned a potential disaster into a community-building experience.
Halloween night is supposed to be scary, but for shoppers at E.W. James & Sons store in Troy, Tenn. — which had opened just two weeks prior — the evening was especially terrifying, as an electrical fire that began in the store's rear completely engulfed the facility within minutes.
“From the time that we identified smoke in the back part of the store, it was only minutes before the store was completely engulfed,” says Steve Hilton, director of marketing and public relations for the Union City, Tenn.-based family-owned independent, which operates 21 stores in Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas and Mississippi. “Our assistant manager did a good job herding people out of the store. A couple of people in the [adjacent] Subway had to come out through a window, but everybody got out safe.”
The safe exit of shoppers and staff came as a relief, but wasn't unexpected. E.W. James pays close attention to safety, reviewing evacuation procedures regularly. Within 15 to 20 seconds of the first announcement, most of the store was empty. “We have regular safety meetings in our stores,” says Hilton. “We have a continual training program because we change out associates quite often at the front end sometimes — we are all plagued with that.”
The fire destroyed the E. W. James & Sons store, its Subway franchise attached to the store, and its Pizza Pro shop. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt in the fire; three employees and one customer were treated at Baptist Hospital for smoke inhalation and were discharged shortly afterward.
Having a store burn down is bad enough; having a newly opened store destroyed is more than heartbreaking. The store was originally a Foodrite that E.W. James bought in the summer of2009, after which the grocer remodeled and reset the entire store under its own banner.
But while the fire is an interesting topic in itself, E.W. James' actions after the disaster provide the material for the real story, as a perfect example of the close ties often found between independent grocers and the communities they serve.
Community Gathering
Immediately upon hearing about the fire, members of E.W. James' corporate staff gathered at the store's parking lot; many reached it before the fire was completely extinguished. Right then and there, it was decided that the fire wouldn't stop the grocer from serving the community, and E.W. James CEO Lee Ann James and Troy Mayor Jimmie Hart discussed setting up a temporary facility that would stock the basics for shoppers — such as milk, bread and eggs — while the store's replacement was being built.
Within two weeks, the temporary store was up and running. “We found a 5,000-square-foot building about a mile from the Troy store that was formerly occupied by an auto parts store,” says Hilton. “It had excellent visibility and was right on Highway 51, the main highway in the area. Our team got together and started designing the interior with the idea of providing shoppers' basic needs, and we purchased a vehicle for transporting meat back and forth to that store from our Union City location. During the time we used the temporary store, the Troy butcher made regular trips back and forth to Union City to cut meat and then deliver the meat to the temporary location. Meat was brought back and forth twice a day so it was fresh and we could offer several choices.”
Spare and backup equipment and fixtures were used for the temporary store, including two registers (plus one for the Subway unit when it opened); security equipment; and displays. Most of it came from a warehouse the grocer maintains for expansions or in case of emergencies — like the Halloween fire.
Surprisingly, E.W. James was able to offer most of the essentials at the makeshift store, including its top 25 items, according to Hilton. “It wound up being six aisles of merchandise in the 5,000-square-foot store, and we had a little back room with some coolers to keep extra milk and ice cream and all the fast-moving stuff,” he says.
The company even installed a Subway unit at the temporary location. Recounts Hilton: “Three months later, we carved out about 400 square feet in the front, and put the Subway back in,” recounts Hilton. “Normally, Subway builds it, but we got a special dispensation from them in order to put it in because of the hardship. We used their approved vendors and hardware, but we had to design according to what would fit in the space. They were outstandingly flexible in working with us, because Subway has some very strict rules as to the appearance of their stores. They're a very successful company, and they feel that their store design is a part of their success, so you have to adhere to these rules to be a vendor of their company.”
Interestingly, the temporary store brought back a bit of nostalgia for CEO James, as it reminded her of the company's roots: The first store her grandfather opened looked very similar in terms of size and offerings, she noted during a television interview.
Even working from makeshift digs didn't stop the grocer from serving the community, however, and E.W. James committed to providing the annual band supper for the local high schools as it does every year, despite having fewer resources on this occasion. The band supper is a fundraising event the grocer hosts to raise money for Obion County Central High School and Union City High School. Typically, the fundraisers take place in the parking lot of the Union City store, but after E.W. James bought the Troy location, it planned to hold the 2010 event in the parking lot of the newly converted store. The fire ended those plans.
The company still decided to hold the Obion supper in Troy, but switched the venue to the parking lot of the church across the street from the Troy store, and everyone pitched in to help. “We couldn't possibly handle all of the requirements they needed, like the beans and slaw, because we didn't have the room or deli in the temporary space,” says Hilton. “So we prepared everything at our Union City store, and all of the band parents pitched in to transport it all back to Troy. They showed us a ton of support. The average attendance is about 100 to 110 people at these suppers, and there were close to 500 people there this time.”
The city also pitched in to help the grocer. “They were Johnny-on-the-spot with equipment,” says Hilton. “For the temporary store, they brought gravel in and packed it down for the parking lot, and stayed on top of it to keep the weeds from growing in the area. You can't describe how much they did to help us out. I think we shocked them by getting the store running so quickly.”
In addition to providing equipment and resources to help build and maintain the temporary facility, the mayor and the board of aldermen called an emergency session once the temporary location was operational and voted to provide a shuttle at the senior citizen center in Troy to transport the elderly back and forth to the Union City store, so they could still shop at a full-service grocery store until the Troy store was rebuilt.
“Ken [Pink, E.W. James' president,] and Lee Ann [James] say that E.W. James has always been known for caring about family,” says Hilton. “We are a family-run organization, and we take pride in our communities. We try our best to do things in our communities that convey that message. This was an excellent opportunity to show what we mean by that, in making a commitment to getting the temp store running in two weeks' time, and our willingness to do the band supper anyway, even though we weren't prepared for it with the smaller facility. And it's reciprocal. We get tons of help from the town, the community and churches.”
Blessing in Disguise
The fire turned out to be a blessing in disguise, in terms of the construction of the new location. Once the destroyed facility was bulldozed away, E.W. James expanded the square footage of the building by approximately 300 square feet. Additionally, the town allowed the company to set the store 300 feet back from its original location, which allowed for the addition of more parking spaces, including handicapped spaces right in front of the store, instead of in the lot. Plus, the grocer was able to move the Subway unit inside of the store, rather than having it as an add-on that jutted out into the parking lot as it had previously. The city also let E.W. James extend the area behind the store to allow for a dock area for loading and unloading, and some additional parking for employees.
The company additionally made the new facility its first green store. “We intended for our next ground-up to be a green store; we just didn't expect this one to be the next ground-up,” says Hilton. “We installed energy-efficient HVAC units and coolers, installed frost-proof doors on our freezer units, and low-energy LED lighting throughout the store. We also use compostable materials in a lot of our signage.”
Indeed, the new Troy store, which opened two weeks short of a year after the fire destroyed the old one, has become the company's new concept store after which future ground-ups will be modeled.
A Family Affair
The yearlong ordeal had the effect of bringing the E.W. James family even closer together. “After the fire, our staff met weekly and put the Troy store as an agenda item every week,” says Hilton. “We discussed what was going on, what needed to be done, we developed plans, we acted on the plans, and we got it all done within the time frame in which we wanted it done. We started planning while the smoke was still coming from the store. We spent lots of hours there, late nights, lots of hours stocking and getting everything ready. We shut the temp store down on a Thursday, and opened up the new store the following Saturday morning.”
Through it all, not one employee from the original Troy store lost his or her job due to the fire. It was one of Lee Ann James' top priorities as she stood in front of the burning building that every employee would be transferred within the company, especially with the holiday season coming. In fact, most of the Troy employees ended up back in the new store.
Not surprisingly, there were a lot of tears at the grand opening, which occurred in November 2010. “We had tremendous response from the community,” says Hilton. “We all touched the store in some way or another, poured our hearts into it to get it back open. It's different when you are resetting a store; it's different when a new manager comes into a store and resets it and starts running it his way. But in a store, when you set a grand opening, and in less than a month it's on the ground from a fire, and going through the turmoil with making this little store work while we're waiting, and then [the store manager] finally gets to turn the key in this new store&emdash;it's some feeling.”
A Salute
The following is a note from the E.W.James blog, posted shortly after the fire at the Troy, Tenn., store in recognition of the night manager's efforts in evacuating the location:
There are a lot of times that we as associates and managers miss the opportunity to recognize talent and outstanding service of our fellow associates. However, this one bears a lot of recognition, because one of our employees has shown wisdom beyond her age in taking care of customers under a lot of duress. The staff and management of E. W. James & Sons would like to take this opportunity to recognize Selena Davis, night manager at our Troy store.
Selena was the manager in charge the night our Troy store caught on fire, and it was her quick thinking that probably saved lives by making sure that all employees were cleared from the store when she discovered that the store was on fire. Not only did she make sure the store was clear, but she also helped with the evacuation of additional customers and employees of our Subway.
We often take for granted that our people are “minding the store,” and what would happen if a disaster broke out. We now know. After reviewing the videotapes from the store security cameras, we know now who had the cool head. We now know how much Selena cared for her fellow associates and the customers who were in the store. You see, when the smoke started, there were exactly two minutes until smoke engulfed the store and the fire was spotted by a camera, but once the smoke actually began to come from the back area of the store, there were 28 seconds. That's right, 28 seconds [during which] Selena reacted and got everyone out.
That's why we're proud to salute Selena Davis; she's a hero in our eyes. That's why we're proud of every associate of E. W. James & Sons, and the training in management and safety that we insist that everyone practices. Thank you Selena, for working hard for the families that shop at the Troy E. W. James!