A.J. Patel and his wife Versha are the proprietors of Woodward’s only grocery store.

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A.J.'s Grocery
209 S Main
Woodward

Bob's Grocery in Woodward was completely destroyed in a 1999 fire, but its owner A.J. Patel refused to let his store close for long. He rebuilt it and gave it his name - A.J.'s Grocery.

One of the Iowa Lottery's longest-standing private retailers says he isn't going anywhere.

“I have seen it - some small towns are dying without grocery stores. It's just like a ghost town. Without Main Street, there's no town,” Patel said.

Lottery is part of the reason why some of his customers come into the store. He's sold Iowa Lottery products since September 1986.

“It's a good thing that we can pull the people in. And when they buy a lottery ticket, they might pick up something [else], so it does help,” Patel explained.

He said sometimes he will attach a lottery ticket to a grocery item he wants to sell quickly.

“If I want to move it quick, rather than putting a dollar off, I put a ticket on it,” he said.

On “Friends and Neighbors Day” in Woodward, held in July or August, he gives away lottery promotional items.

Patel isn't just a grocery store, owner, though, he is a three-term city councilman and mayor pro-tem of the small town of Woodward in Dallas County. He said his grocery store means too much to the community and to his family for him to leave town. He depends on his loyal customers who only shop with him.

“I'm not cheaper like Hy-Vee or Fareway, but they understand that I don't have turnover. I'm not going to have lower prices because my cost is higher than the bigger stores. My loyal customers - they won't go [anywhere else]. They are trying to support me; I'm going to be here, that's for sure,” Patel said.

When Patel arrived in Woodward in 1986 from the Chicago suburbs, he bought Bob's Grocery and started his family's new life.

“When I came here, I didn't have plans to run for the council. As a business person, it's hard to do that. But once I got to know people here, and I'm community-minded, so I thought, ‘Let me give it a try.’ I would like to keep local businesses growing here…,” Patel explained.

At first he was afraid he might lose customers by making a council decision someone disagreed with. But that didn't stop him from running and winning a seat on the council.

“I changed my attitude. I said, ‘That's fine. If I'm going to make one or two individuals mad, and I'm going to do good for the whole community, I'd rather do that.’” he said.

A framed memento from community members hangs on the wall in the store - it includes photos of the building and Patel’s truck after the fire, yellow caution tape from the site, bricks, some burned wood and other symbols of the fire.

After the fire totally burned the store, Patel said people reminded him that he could have taken the insurance settlement and started over somewhere else. His determination and love for his store and town are illustrated in the story surrounding the fire and the rebuilding of the store.

In 1999, Patel was a Woodward volunteer firefighter. He never dreamed he'd have to fight a fire at his own store.

“I was at the store here. I didn't even have a chance to close … I ran to the fire department and I was the first one … at the scene. I put my gear on and I ran this way. Until the firefighters [came], I was trying to fight the fire, but it was too late. It was just burning like paper.”

Patel said old wiring was the culprit in the building, built around 1890. He had six apartments in the second level of the building that were also destroyed.

Patel's insurance company took extra special care of him during the settlement; in fact, the CEO of the company attended the re-opening. When Patel asked him why, “He said, ‘Because you made the decision to come back and we appreciate that.‘”

Patel said, “Here, everybody just feels like family members. I have a peaceful life here. We are happy here.”