At one time, the guys owned six IGA grocery stores with locations in Ross, Millville, Monroe, Hunter, Lebanon, and Trenton.
Todd Daniels, 60, opened the Trenton location, 313 W. State St., in 1986. He tore down the farmhouse that was there, built the grocery store, expanded it five times, and has grown it into a thriving business that employs 47 people, many of them for decades.
His wife, Sarah, director of the art department at Badin High School, retired this school year, and now it’s his time to not set an alarm clock.
Working from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. takes a toll on a person’s mind and body, even someone with his youthful enthusiasm and energy.
“It’s just time,” he said while sitting in a back office. “I don’t want to be one of those guys who dies at the checkout. I want to enjoy life.”
Minutes before that, he was stocking shelves while standing on a step stool. He doesn’t expect his employees to do anything he wouldn’t.
He leads by example.
Two employees and Edgewood High School graduates, Dylan Gray, 33, and Kaley Chasteen, 23, both store managers, have spent most of their working careers at Todd’s IGA.
“It’s personal; he cares,” Gray said when asked why he has stayed 10 years. “He has been like a father figure to me since day one. I don’t think there’s anyone better I could work for.”
Chasteen, who started working for Daniels when she was 16, agreed. She said the pay is good, the hours are flexible and the owner “takes care of us pretty much. He understands.“
That’s probably because the seeds for the grocery business and its family-first philosophy were planted by his father Bill Daniels, who worked for a bread company and sometimes took Todd on his routes.
Then around 1980, Bill Daniels left as president of the bread company and entered the grocery business when he opened the Monroe location.
Over the years, the grocery stores have been named Convenient Food Marts, AmeriStops and IGAs. But there’s been one constant: a Daniels has been in charge.
Todd Daniels always knew he would follow his father.
“It just fits me,” he said.
Todd and Sarah Daniels got married in 1986, the same year they opened the Trenton store, bought a house and borrowed money from his father for the down payment.
“We threw it all out there,” he said with a laugh.
The couple, who live in a historic home on Dayton Street in Hamilton, have 31-year-old twin daughters, Wallis and Maurene.
When he decided to open the Trenton location, he discussed with his father adding his first name to the business. He said with all the name changes “no one knew what to call us. I told my dad, ‘I’m going to call it Todd’s. It will be Todd’s IGA, Todd’s AmeriStop, Todd’s Shell, Todd’s whatever. It will always be Todd’s or Todd’s IGA.’“
The grocery store is widely known for its hot food, delicatessen, wide selection of fresh-cut meats, competitive prices and customer service. He knows many of his customers by first name.
He described Todd’s IGA as “the community grocery store.”
Daniels plans to sell the business and the building to a four-person group out of Hamilton. The closing date is July 21 and Daniels has agreed to remain working as long as it takes to assist in the ownership transition.
They have agreed to keep the name, telling him: “If it’s not broke, we’re not going to try to fix it.”
That brought a smile to his face: “I was happy about that.”
Gray, who worked himself up from stocking shelves to manager, said anticipating working for new owners is “scary” because it will take years to have a personal relationship with them like he does with Daniels.
“It’s sad, but we’re happy for him,” Gray said.
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