Cairo grocery store opens, first such store in city since 2015

CAIRO, Ill. (KBSI) – The city of Cairo had been without a grocery store since 2015, but things have changed. Rise Community Market is now open and ready to serve the community.

“It’s a very, very big day,” Cairo resident Jerry Stacy said. 

Stacy understood the significance of this day, the first day in almost a decade that the city has a grocery store. 

“I know I’m not the only one that was looking forward to this, so I’m looking for this to last,” he said.

Stacy previously had to drive as far as Cape Girardeau or Paducah to do his grocery shopping, so he is elated to now be able to get groceries in his hometown. 

“I went everywhere,” Stacy said. “That was a big inconvenience, actually, especially for people who didn’t have cars. I’ve got a car, and it’s still, of course, a big inconvenience.” 

Stacy’s good friend, Charles Gatewood, took a job at the store in his retirement.

“This store is going to mean a lot to a lot of people, and we’re really thankful for it,” Gatewood said.

Gatewood said the people of this community, more importantly their hearts, have made this store possible. 

“It’s a friendly place,” he said. “There are a lot of good people around here.” 

And on a similar note, Stacy says it brings: “Hope to those who thought that ‘hey, Cairo wouldn’t ever amount to anything, nobody wants to come here, you know, this place is just bad, bad, bad.’ But hey, there’s good everywhere. There are good people everywhere you go.”