Lady Cats Suffer Losses To Piñon, Valley And Fredonia
By Naomi Hatch Bashas’ in Taylor will host a grand re-opening in conjunction with Senior Discount Day on Wednesday, Feb. 3. The store’s opening in 1989 brought new shopping opportunities for the area, something long sought by residents. In 1985 there was very little shopping available in Taylor. Snowflake offered some, with groceries at Nick’s, later Pioneer Market and Ed’s Variety sold a little of just about everything, but most shopping was done in Show Low. The desire was strong to have local shopping that would bring taxes to Taylor. After much communication with Eddie Bashas’ of the Bashas’ grocery store chain promoting the Town of Taylor, Basha agreed to visit and see what Taylor had to offer. At first he said they would not build a store in Taylor, but with a bit more pestering, he agreed to have a marketing analysis done. The firm agreed to put in one of its small stores, but that wasn’t what the town was looking for, so Mayor Roy Palmer called to tell Basha that. When Basha said that was what he was offering, Palmer let him know they wanted a larger store and hung up on him. A couple of days later, Palmer got a call from Basha who liked the persistence, and agreed to build a larger Bashas’ grocery store in Taylor. Palmer donated the land, and an investment group was put together to build the Silver Creek Shopping Center. Brimhall-Palmer Construction, owned by Kay “Blackie” Palmer and Ted Brimhall, built the shopping center, using local contractors. Frontier State Bank President Bill Hancock was instrumental in getting a construction loan with the help of several investors. Bashas’ opened for business in Taylor on March 1, 1989. “We expanded by 8,500 square feet in 1999,” said Rob Johnson, of the firm’s Public Relations Department. Recently the 29,000-square foot store was remodeled. There will be 3D graphics installed throughout the store, and in the front of the store will be a history of Bashas’. Bashas’ is well known as a family store, and for supporting rural Arizona. Their story began in 1884 in Lebanon, the homeland of Tanius Basha, who immigrated to New York where he opened a family store. His oldest son Najeeb came in 1886 at the age of 16, and went to work with his father. Soon all the family had moved to America. In 1910, Najeeb moved to Arizona, where his wife’s sister and her husband lived, later moving to Ray, Ariz., where they opened their store in nearby Sonora, but fire took most of their inventory. In the 1920s they opened their second store in Chandler. Two sons, Ike and Eddie Basha Sr., opened their first store in 1932 in Chandler. It was a family business that quickly became known for “meeting the needs of its many varied customers and neighbors,” according to the History of Bashas’. Under the leadership of Eddie Basha they expanded to 14 supermarkets and three discount stores through the 1960s. Eddie Jr., a Stanford University graduate, took over the leadership when his father died in 1968. They now have more than 120 stores, including Bashas’, Bashas’Dine, AJ’s Fine Foods and Food City. “Throughout its growth, Bashas’ never forgot the principle the family brought to its first store… serve your neighbors. The concept of community service runs through Bashas’ at a corporate level and extends to the pride of its 8,500 members take in serving their communities,” the history notes. The Taylor Bashas’ has been supportive of the community, contributing to schools and many non-profit organizations. Eddie Jr. passed away in 2013, but the family tradition continues with his son Edward Basha III as president and CEO of the firm. Other members of the Basha family also hold leadership positions in the company. “While much has changed over the years, our mission remains the same,” notes the Bashas’ website. “We will always strive to grow and improve our business, but we will never forget who we are and where we came from. “Arizona’s our backyard, and we have a vested interest in the neighborhoods we serve. With more than 130 stores serving the state’s 15 counties, we’re proud to be your hometown grocer.” The first manager of the Taylor Bashas’ was Steve Stover, who did so much to support the community that after he left Taylor, the town council traveled to Chandler to present him with a plaque to thank him for his service to the community. Mark Muder was a local resident who continued Bashas’ support of the community as store director until last year when Brian Reid took over that position. Reid has been with Bashas’ since it opened in 1989, working his way up to store director. “If everyone shops like they have in the past, we can both survive and be happy,” said Reid of the forthcoming opening of the Taylor Walmart.
