A story three generations in the making

“My sister lived here in St. Louis,” shared Tawil. “I came [from Michigan] decades ago to see her and I loved the weather in St. Louis—you know it gets pretty cold in Detroit.” He decided to move down to St. Louis and be near with his sister, eventually owning a convenience store in Florissant for nearly two decades.

Tawil is a third generation shop owner, with his father and grandfather having owned shops before him in Bethlehem. When violent crime and drug abuse became overbearing in Florissant, Tawil sold his shop and moved to Wentzville; Eventually, he would acquire the Elsberry I.G.A. grocery store, where he has been the owner-proprietor for five years. Tawil and his wife Wafa run the store alongside one another.

“Me and my wife work 12 hours a day, seven days a week, just so we can make a dollar and keep the store open so we can keep people happy here.”

The store employs eleven people total, accepts food stamps and extends credit to those in need. Although Tawil admits to having lost over $1,500 dollars in a select few customer’s defaulted payments, he shared that most customers do pay him back. He often extends credit to senior citizens on social security and to poorer residents living on government money who get paid monthly. Tawil cites his faith as a foundation for his business model.

“We are Greek Orthodox Christians; we try and live our Christian duty—[Customers] as me for credit, and I simply hate to tell them no.”

The store was recently slandered by an out-of-towner for being overpriced, but residents of the community have since rallied around the I.G.A. in a show of support. Store butcher Jeffrey Penrod opened up about the business.

“The local dollar stores hurt older stores like this [I.G.A.],” shared Penrod, “But we have something Dollar General and other stores can’t offer—We have fresh meat, a fresh deli and fresh produce; that’s where we’ve got them.”

A three-year employee of the I.G.A. (and life-long third generation butcher), Penrod described the store as, “A staple up here in the area. There’s no self-check out, we wait on our customers; Elias and his family, they are like family to me. They are about the customer 100 percent—That’s why I think this store is still here.”

“There’s a lot of hospitality in these old stores that you won’t get anywhere else. Despite [the competition from value stores], this I.G.A. does good; it holds its own.”

Although the store has many customers in the community, it has not been exempt from the effects of a crippling pandemic and recessive economy. Shipping fees have increased over the last year, and Tawil shared that the grocery store suffers from December through March due to the lack of traffic on the riverfront near by.

For Tawil, a gentleman who hasn’t had a vacation since his nephew’s wedding over a year ago, closing the shop or changing his charitable business practices is not an option. Before returning to bagging groceries, he shared his parting sentiment on the business and its impact on himself.

“This community here—Elsberry—I love this community. That’s my story, and thanks for listening.”