Corner Grocery Store earns Resiliency Award from Old Town Cape Inc.

Old Town Cape Inc. named the Corner Grocery Store its Resiliency Award recipient Friday.

The Corner Grocery Store -- located at 439 Broadway Street in Cape Girardeau -- is owned by Robert and Mary Gentry and has been in business since 2007.

According to the award announcement, when the Gentrys first opened the store it carried mostly groceries. Over time the store added foods such as red beans and rice, chicken and dumplings and fried chicken, along with chocolates and candies.

"We've seen plenty of changes over the 14-plus years that Mary and I have been down at the Corner Store," Robert Gentry said. "Initially, we thought we were going to be mostly serving the residential neighbors in the neighborhood. As it turned out, we got such good support from fellow businesses and retailers in the downtown, and not-so-downtown area."

With the COVID-19 pandemic creating challenges for downtown businesses, the Gentrys took the opportunity to help others, including delivering care packages to Cape Girardeau Health Department staff and providing complimentary chocolate-covered strawberries and other snacks to Discovery Playhouse events.

"Back in April and May we decided to evaluate our entire business," Robert Gentry said. "Doing so, we decided to reduce some of our days of operation, as well as our hours. That was part of trying to make our longevity, to hang in this business as long as we could."

Old Town Cape's Resiliency Award is an award specifically for 2020 presented to a business or individual that adapted to a "changed reality across various aspects of their business and has risen to the occasion."

Old Town Cape announces its final award -- the Charles L. Hutson Visionary Award -- Saturday. To view videos and read announcements of award recipients, visit www.Facebook.com/OldTownCape.