1969….the Vietnam War escalated, Woodstock entertained a generation, Nixon became president, Hurricane Camille ravaged the Gulf-Coast, Apollo landed on the moon, and Harley Loy went into business for himself. December, 1999, marked the 30th Anniversary for the Loy's chain of grocery supermarkets located in the Miss-Lou with the company name, Supermarket Operations.

It all began nearly 43 years ago when Harley, raised on a small farm in Arkansas, started in the grocery business as a clerk in a Kroger store in Atlanta, Georgia. Today Harley owns seven supermarkets in Mississippi and Louisiana, employs 339 associates, and has an annual payroll of $4.5 million.

On top of that, he has managed to keep the business in the family, three of his sons hold key positions in the company. The oldest, Del, works in the administration office; Barry, Director of Retail stores, coordinates operations for all stores; and Jeff, the youngest, manages the company's store in Ball, La.

Making it in the grocery business was never easy or quick.

After Atlanta, he moved back to his native Arkansas to hold management positions at Safeway stores in Little Rock, Malvern, Hot Springs, and Hope before becoming manager of a large store in Monroe, Louisiana. Soon his duties included advertising and public relations manager for eight north Louisiana Safeway stores.

The opportunity to buy two stores in Natchez, Mississippi and two in Vidalia, Louisiana, presented itself in 1969. With those four stores, he formed Supermarket Operations in December 1969 and moved his family to Natchez. The business was less than brisk, and the stores were run down. In those early years, he would work as many as 70 hours a week, helping out with maintenance and remodeling the stores after closing time.

Harley's sons have had to work their way up in the company as well. "Our father put a broom in our hands as soon as we were old enough to help out," said Barry Loy. "It's been good for us. We can relate to our employees better because we have been there. Dad would tell us when he promoted us, 'Don't forget where you came from.'" All of the sons started with the company as soon as they were old enough. Del actually started with Safeway in Monroe before the family business was formed.

Harley Loy's strategy for continued success in the new millenium is simple----respond quickly to customer's requests and complaints, carry a variety of products and keep up with the times.

Another key to the Loy's success has been a commitment to the community. Since the company is locally-owned, money spent in the stores is put back into the local economy.
"Money spent in our stores is not sent off somewhere else….it stays right here in the community," Harley says. The company supports many local causes and is the community's fourth largest contributor to the United Way.

With the closing of the old By-Pass store last year, none of the original locations from 1969 are still in operation today. Miss-Lou residents remember the various names of Loy's stores through the years: Lewis' Supermarkets, Big Star, Loy's Discount Foods, Super-Value, Dixie Dandy, Piggly Wiggly, County Market.

Supermarket Operations got to where it is today by refusing to get complacent. In the 1970's the company improved by moving their Vidalia business to the former Winn-Dixie location west of town. This enabled the store to increase in sales and better serve its customers. They then bought the Jitney Jungle store next to Howard Brothers in Natchez (on the site of the present K-Mart). In 1976, the company added the first sit-down, in-store restaurant in town known to customers as "the deli." After 23 years, the original "deli" is now located in the Piggly Wiggly store on Sgt. Prentiss drive in Natchez, and is as popular as ever. In fact, all six stores feature delis which serve hot lunches as well as baked goods and custom ordered cakes.

During the 1980's the company purchased the Piggly Wiggly store on Sgt. Prentiss Drive and built the first price impact supermarket in town, Natchez Market (which was then called County Market). The 90's saw the company adding a location in Ball, Louisiana, and purchasing three closed Winn-Dixie stores which provided a second Natchez Market and a new presence in Ferriday and McCOMB, Louisiana. In 2000, the Company purchased a Sak-n-Save, now known as Vidalia Market also located in Louisiana.

"Having come through some very hard times over the years, it is rewarding to see our company grow and become a leader in the market in which we operate," Harley Loy says.

Mr. Loy as Manager of a Safeway store in Monroe, LA 1964

Lewis Washington Supermarket was one of Mr. Loy's first stores. This picture was taken in 1970.

Mr. Loy as an Assistant Manager of a Safeway in Little Rock, Arkansas 1957.