The long-time neighborhood grocery store in Thorsby will officially close its doors on Saturday after more than 75 years in business.

“It is just time,” Mizzell’s Super Saver grocery store owner Chester Mizzell said. “Everybody needs a little change in life, and it was time for that change.”

The grocery store, located on Montgomery Avenue in Thorsby, is the oldest continually operated grocery store in Chilton County, according to Mizzell.

“We have never moved locations,” Mizzell said. “For as long as I can remember this has always been a grocery store. A lot of stores end up moving to a different place after so many years, but we have always been here.”

For many, a trip to the grocery store is a way of life, and most of the customers who shop at Mizzell’s are greeted on a first-name basis when they walk in the door.

“We know 99 percent of our customers,” Mizzell said. “Not only do we know them, but we pretty much know what they are coming in to buy.”

Mizzell purchased the grocery store from Harold Mims in October 1993, but the store had operated under the ownership of Mims since the 1940s.

Mizzell’s first job was working at the grocery store while he attended high school, and he told Mims if he ever decided to sell the store, he would like to buy it.

“I liked the idea of being my own boss, and I knew if Harold ever sold it I would try to buy it,” Mizzell said.

Although Mizzell admits he now desires a change from his regular routine of operating the store, other factors including health issues with his wife and shifts within the economy are contributing factors to the store’s closing.

“The store is older than I am,” Mizzell laughingly said. “It will be sad to see it close, but it was more important to me to take care of my wife than spend time at the store.”

Currently, the store has 14 employees, including many who are in high school working a job for the first time.

“We like to hire kids in high school because they can learn and experience working a job, which are good skills to have,” Mizzell said. “I worked here when I was in high school, and when I bought the store from Harold they were still using the time clock I used when I worked here.”

Some of the charm within the store includes the hand-painted window signs displaying the sale items for a particular week, the perfectly straightened rows of canned items on each aisle, and the products on the shelves which are purchased based on customer feedback.

“We buy what people want, and we have always tried to do that,” Mizzell said. “I once had two older ladies who came to me and wanted a particular type of Brunswick stew. I called the company I order from, and they found the product and shipped it to me. I carried that product for those two women until they died. A lot of our products are like that though. If someone wanted something, we would try our best to have it.”

Mizzell said one of the more memorable moments during his time at the grocery store was when a lady drove through the front doors of the store’s entrance.

“That was a pretty interesting day,” Mizzell said. “She didn’t mean to do it, but she thought she had her car in reverse when she actually had it in drive.”

Mizzell said the store’s specialty throughout the years was without a doubt the meat.

“You can ask anyone, and they will tell you we had the best meat in the county,” Mizzell said. “You start with good meat, and you treat it right.”

Mizzell’s has been offering daily specials leading up to the store’s closure with all groceries on Thursday 30 percent off.

“We will have all groceries on Friday 40 percent off, and then on Saturday we will have 50 percent off,” Mizzell said.

Ideally, Mizzell hopes someone will purchase the building and operate it as a grocery store.

“I would love for it to stay a grocery store,” Mizzell said. “It would be nice for the people in Thorsby to have somewhere they could shop.”

As customers filtered in on Thursday morning, Mizzell greeted each one with a smile and warm greeting.

“Go look around and see if you find anything,” Mizzell told one customer.

Minutes later, another customer was thanked by Mizzell for stopping by.

“I have enjoyed getting to know everyone, and it was the people who really made the job enjoyable,” Mizzell said.