“Iconic,” “a staple,” and “a part of history.”
These are words used to describe the popular grocery store, Foy’s Supermarket. Located near the expressway and Conway Avenue in Mission, the store has served the needs of locals with affordable prices since 1982.
At the end of August, its doors will close permanently, marking the end of an era for the locally owned business.
The store was opened by Foy Johnston as an expansion of his popular Globe Supermarket in McAllen.
According to El Globo and Foy’s Supermarket Director of Operations Pete Charles, a nearby business was already using the name “Globe,” so Johnston decided to give his new store’s Mission location his namesake.
“I was working at Globe Supermarket, I’d been working there since 1976,” Charles recalled. “When they opened up Foy’s (Supermarket) in Mission, I went over there to help put it up as far as the Wall of Value, which is what it’s known for. Just to get it going, I went and helped out.”
In those days, Charles was known as “Speedo,” a nickname given to him by Johnston due to his ability to bag groceries at a high rate of speed.
“He nicknamed me ‘Speedo’ because I was fast and quick, and I just loved my job,” Charles said.
Charles has spent his entire career working for Globe Supermarket and Foy’s Supermarket. Throughout his time with the supermarkets, he’s continued to instill a sense of family with his employees as well as his customers.
“We cater to the low income people, all the time,” Charles said. “That was our clientele, the middle to lower income people. We don’t really cater to the higher class.”
With its many years of service to the community, there is an emptiness already being felt by those who long shopped the aisles of the supermarket.
One of the first to pay tribute to Foy’s Supermarket was local rap artist Big Rene, who recorded a music video just outside the store in 2019.
“The store has been a staple in the community for many many years and it’s with sadness to know it will no longer be open,” Rene wrote on Facebook. “This store has many childhood memories as I’m sure it does for many of you too in some unique special way.”
Charles also mentioned a woman who asked for a keepsake from the supermarket so that it could be added to a local museum.
“We helped out a lot in the community. That’s one of the things that we pride ourselves in,” Charles said. “The fire department, the police department, the teachers, we tried to help everyone that we could. We donated a lot of stuff. We just wanted to be part of the community.”
With so much time dedicated to the community, the news of the supermarket’s closing came as a shock to many. Charles described the decision to close as the result of a perfect storm that included inflation, the pandemic, the supply chain, and the state of the economy.
With the impending closure of the beloved store, Charles is trying to stay positive and focus on the wonderful memories he made throughout his career. But those memories are already proving difficult with just weeks left before the store closes permanently.
“It’s terrible,” Charles said with tears in his eyes. “It’s terrible, but you gotta do it. You’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do.”
Among those making their last visits to the store were Jane Virrueta and her mother Clara Virruieta. Jane said that she’d frequent the store for its inventory of Mexican foods and candies. On Friday, Jane was in search of her favorite brand of pickles. With more shelves growing empty, she was fortunate to find the last jar in the store.
“It’s sad,” Jane said about the supermarket’s closure. “There’s a bunch of memories there. Just going today, there’s a lot of nostalgia. It’s sad, but good things come to an end.”
Clara, who is originally from Delaware, said that Foy’s Supermarket was the first store that she felt a connection to when she moved to Texas.
“I liked it, because they had a lot of products that other stores didn’t sell like Mexican items,” Clara said. “And most of all the prices. There were a lot of things on sale, a lot of things were four for a dollar.”
The woman said that despite living in close proximity to another popular supermarket, Foy’s was always her first choice.
“What I’m going to miss most is that I could buy more with less money,” she said. “Now, we’re going to have to pay more.”
“I hope they come back.”
The date of the store’s closure is dependent on the store’s inventory, which Charles estimates will last through the end of August. Until then, the supermarket will be adjusting its hours of operation beginning Monday with the store opening at 8 a.m and closing at 8 p.m. The store will also be offering 20% off all items.
To see more, view Monitor photojournalist Delcia Lopez’s full photo gallery here:
