Babbs Supermarket in Spencer, Indiana, will celebrate its 97th anniversary in July. Third-generation grocer Robert Babbs says his family legacy is not about making money but about building community.
Chester Babbs, Rob’s grandfather, opened the original store July 28, 1928, by purchasing a meat and grocery business in receivership. Over the years, the business grew under the stewardship of Chester, his brother, Elmer, and eventually Rob’s father, Bob Babbs. Today, Rob Babbs continues the family legacy with an unwavering focus on people.
“We’re a store, but we’re a neighbor. And we want to be a good neighbor,” Babbs said. “This is where I grew up. It’s where I live, it’s where I work, and it’s where I’m going to be buried.”
Local store, not a corporate chain
Tony Clements, who has served as operations director for more than six years, brings a wealth of experience from various national grocery chains across five states.
He has seen what makes Babbs different.
“I’ve worked in five states, but this will finish my career,” Clements said. “This man here could be a multi-millionaire. But he chooses to give his money back to the store, back to the community and to his employees.”
That community-first mindset has created something rare in today’s economy – a loyal workforce. Many of Babbs’ 115 employees – split between Babbs Supermarket and his Save A Lot store – have been with the company for decades. And the decision not to install self-checkouts during a recent remodel was deliberate.
“Rob said, ‘Where’s the 15-year-old, 16-year-old, 17-year-old going to get a start?’” Clements recalled.
Babbs elaborated: “Our people make a difference … I think that’s the spirit of this place. And I just know if I did that [install self-checkouts], I think my grandfather and his brother, Elmer, and Dad, they’d be coming right up the street from Riverside Cemetery.
“But it’s not just that. I don’t believe in it. I believe we can still do a better job with our people, with that relationship with the customer.”
The personal connection to the community has been a hallmark of Babbs Supermarket.
“My dad went to the funeral home probably twice a week,” Babbs recalled. “We know these people, and we know their families, and we’ve been through everything with them – marriages, deaths, graduations, 50th anniversaries, 90th birthdays. And really, that’s what keeps this business – it’s a magnet.”
This connection extends to everyday conveniences, even during challenging times.
“When the [COVID-19] virus hit, we were all thinking, ‘What can we do to tell customers ‘yes’ when everybody in the country is telling them ‘no?’ So we let customers take shopping carts home. Maybe they’ll push that cart back to the store and fill it again.”
That policy continues today, and store staff also will go out and pick up any carts left in a customer’s yard.
Cashiers have lollipops on hand for the kids, and Babbs has continued a tradition his dad started, with everyone getting a free cookie in the deli.
Babbs said something his dad once told him has stuck. For some people, “The best thing that happens to them all week is going to the grocery store. We’ve got to help make their day.”
Service that transcends commerce
Babbs Supermarket isn’t just open 24 hours for convenience – it’s for safety. When a deadly tornado struck the small town of Spencer during the night of March 31, 2023, the store became a shelter.
Clements said he was watching the store cameras and about 20 families from a nearby mobile home park fled to the store. They were directed by store staff to shelter in the back in the coolers.
As possibly the only full-service grocery store in the state to stay open 24 hours, Clements said he often had wondered if it paid to do so. After the tornado came through, the answer was clear.
The tornado devastated the local state park and campground, where two people were killed. The park, which hosted thousands of summer visitors over the years, still has not recovered.
“Someone lost their life,” Babbs said, adding that many of the visitors became familiar faces over the years. “That area will never be the same.”
Investing in people
Babbs Supermarket is a workplace where employees are picked up and driven to work if they don’t have transportation, and where financial hardship is met with quiet generosity.
“There’ve been many employees with cancer, a death in the family or sickness – Rob will slip $1,000 into their bank account and not say a word,” Clements said.
Babbs added that employees don’t fill out Family Medical Leave Act forms to request time off. “If you need three months off, take three months off. Come back when you’re ready,” he said.
The culture is so deeply rooted that some families now represent generations of Babbs employees.
“The mother and dad worked here, and then their kids. Now their grandchildren and great-grandchildren are working here,” Clements said. He attributes this to the Babbs family reputation of being a good employer.
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More than groceries
Babbs Supermarket regularly hosts cookouts and food drives for nonprofits such as the Boys & Girls Club and Area 10 Agency on Aging, along with in-store promotions.
“There’s something going on here 46 weeks of the year,” Clements said.
The company’s military ties also run deep. “Dad served. My Uncle John served in the Navy. Grandpa was in the Navy. I registered for the Vietnam War but didn’t have to go,” Babbs said. “We believe in service to country and community.”
He highlighted their long-standing support for patriotic organizations like the American Legion and VFW.
Looking ahead, Clements previewed a unique community event held in conjunction with the local chamber of commerce: a “Chester Chicken Chunk Contest” on Sept. 6, inspired by a quirky historical event – a Poultry Fly – involving live poultry.
In the 1940s, Chester Babb and some other local businessmen got together and decided to “toss live chickens and turkeys from the top of the courthouse,” Clements said. “If you caught it, you got to keep it. An article in the local paper said, ‘much fun and delight was had by all.’
“Of course, what comes to mind is [station manager Arthur Carlson] from WKRP in Cincinnati, saying, ‘As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly’ [from the ‘Turkey’s Away’ episode].”
This time, instead of live birds, foam turkeys and chickens will be tossed from the courthouse roof with numbers on the bottom for prizes.
Babbs shared another promotion held several years ago around Thanksgiving – a “fowl shot” contest.
“We took a 10-12-pound turkey and about two rolls of duct tape and wrapped it up. We had a basketball goal and had a mattress under it. We had a line where people stood where they tried to shoot it. Underhand was the best way,” he recalled.
“If you made it, you got a free turkey. We did that for a couple years, and then they said, ‘What about the kids?’ So we got a smaller basketball goal, and we took a frying hen and wrapped it. They shot it to win a two-liter Pepsi.”
Looking forward
The Babbs family has seen Spencer change over the decades, but the heart of the business remains people, not profits.
When asked about his favorite aspect of being an independent grocer, Babbs said, “Being right here in the front end, where the people come in and go out, and I can see everybody. That’s the best part.”
Clements echoed this sentiment. “It’s not about the money. It’s about the people … He’s touched a lot of people’s lives here. His father touched a lot of people’s lives, his grandfather, and the tradition continues.”
Babbs shared what he said was the best advice he was ever given.
“My grandfather said, ‘You get your work done first. Then if you have time to play, you play … As I’ve gotten older, I’m so grateful he made that point to me, because when you get some success, that’s fine. When you make an ‘A’ this semester, that’s great, but next semester you start over.
“You may have done good yesterday, but that doesn’t count for today. You’ve got to go out and do it again.”
With every burger sold for charity, every ride to work given and every cookie handed to a child, Babbs Supermarket continues to prove that a grocery store can be a place of deep community, legacy and love.
And in Spencer, that makes all the difference.
This store is amazing, and Bob and Tony are exceptional leaders. I worked there three years and left when Covid came. I have had two very successful corporate jobs and working at Babbs taught me lessons every day on human interest and humanity. Working there served me well as a great retirement job.
I worked for Bob and Rob thru the 1980s. Bob was a second father to me. He molded my work ethic and showed me how to treat people with kindness and respect. The lessons I learned there are still with me. Two great men.