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GUIDE TO YELLOW SPR INGS  |  2020 – 2021 9 PHOTO: YS HISTORICAL SOCIETY A fire and explosion in May 1954 destroyed the grocery store. The local masonic lodge rebuilt the building, which stands today. point, 150 area grocers. Eavey was later purchased by Supervalu. Luttrell ran the local grocery until 1971, when he sold it to Calvin “Bud” Weaver, who worked for the Kroger Company, which at one time, had a store in Yellow Springs. On selling the store, Luttrell said that customers would find Bud “receptive to the mood and desires of the village the same as I have.” Weaver sold the store to the Grays 19 years ago. Although Tom’s got a “bump” in sales in the early months of the pandemic as villagers found it safer to stay closer to home, busi- ness has normalized again. Perennially, Tom’s is under threat from chains that keep getting bigger and siting closer to the village. But Gray still enjoys the work, and is content to keep the tradition going. Asked how the grocery has endured here for so long, he was quick to answer. “It’s because of the loyalty of the customers we’ve had over the years, and that we still have.” PHOTO: YS NEWS ARCHIVE Tom’s Market owner Tom Gray in the canned foods aisle in 1982, when he was a manager. Gray has worked at the grocery store for 55 years, and bought it in 2001. PHOTO: AUDREY HACKETT Among the beloved local traditions at Tom’s is cake and coffee offered free to the village on Christmas morning. At left is Gray, with cake slices in hand, in 2015. IMAGE: DAN SCHIFF An ad in the Yellow Springs News in 1956 shows two of the grocery store’s past owners.