When Lloyd Purcell bought the IGA market on Savannah Road from Frank Robinson, the outgoing owner told him, “Put your cash in the register.”
”What cash?” Purcell said. “I don’t have a cent to my name.” When he bought out Robinson in 1973 he had been in the grocery business for 13 years. Still, he was unprepared. The professional and financial burdens of ownership were new to him.
With a tight smile, Robinson loaned Purcell some cash, which was swiftly paid back.
Purcell nurtured his business, focusing on serving local products to local people. By doing so, he won their trust and admiration. After 38 years of business, Lloyd’s Market has woven itself into the local lore, as much a tradition as a grocery store.
Purcell was born at Milford Memorial Hospital and graduated from Lewes High School in 1963, a year after his wife, Dottie. He pulled jobs at Tom Best’s store and A&P before working for Robinson behind the meat counter. It was a good job, but when a Safeway came to town, he felt the need to “better” himself and took a job.
He says he soon found it wasn’t his cup of tea. “I didn’t like the operation-type atmosphere,” Purcell says. After a year and a half at Safeway, he got a call from his old boss at IGA. Robinson wanted to retire, and he needed someone he could trust to take over. If Purcell took the job, Robinson would help him buy the store, and eventually, the building.
It was an opportunity, and a risk. Purcell had no managerial experience and plenty to lose. He said yes.
“You can’t imagine what it’s like to be a manager after being an employee,” he chuckled.
The first three years were nerve-wracking, full of trial-by-error learning experiences and leaps of faith. “There’s always someone shooting at you,” he said, referring to the competition. But there was no turning back, Purcell said. “No retreating when your house is on the line.”
He learned to rely on a group of department managers, choosing reliable, competent people he could trust to do their jobs with a minimum of supervision. With trust comes loyalty, and the veterans among Purcell’s crew have put in a lot of time – two employees, Susan Fischer and Becky Rohlfing, have worked there for 29 years.
Even after 38 years in business, Purcell admits he is still learning. “You never figure it out,” he said, grinning. “You just gotta go with the punches.” Still, Lloyd’s Market – formerly Lloyd’s Foodrite, and before that, Lloyd’s IGA – is a cornerstone. Many Lewes residents prefer Purcell’s store to nearby supermarkets, both for the convenience and the community. They know the clerks, and they know the products – which, Dottie Purcell admits, are not gourmet, but are “what people need. We’ve got a lot of basic items.”
“We have to listen to what people are asking for,” says Lloyd Purcell. “We need to stock the shelves with what they want.”
It never occurred to Lloyd Purcell that he was a local figure – he finds fame beside the point. The rewards of living in Lewes are self-evident. Former employees stop in to buy milk, or just to chat; former customers, in town for a vacation or a holiday, stop in to say hello; a local resident, recently deceased, gave thanks to Lloyd and Dottie in her obituary.
Recently, Lloyd was asked to be the grand marshal of the 2008 Lewes Christmas Parade.
“You feel safe,” said Dottie. “It’s enjoyable. People are friendly. It’s a friendly place to live.”
They lament the passing of friends and the changing landscape – indeed, many of their produce providers have stopped growing, bought out by developers or shut down by rising costs.
“Nothing stays the same,” says Purcell evenly. “What works one year doesn’t work the next.”
But as Lewes changes, new faces come through the door at Lloyd’s Market.
“They say, ‘I didn’t know you were here, but I’ll be coming back!’” Purcell said. “There’s just no fighting it – you just gotta move with the change.”
