Check it out: Longtime Orchard business features upgrades

TJ's Market, in Orchard, continues to upgrade the business to serve the small town with the luxury of having a grocery store.

It's come a long way since a grocery store first opened in the village. In fact, the village's Main Street and TJ's Market, as it is known today, looked quite different in past years.

An Oct. 7, 1993, Orchard News article detailed the history of the Market.

Perry Elder bought the Wolfe Store in Ewing in 1890, and took the contents to Orchard, from Ewing, on wagons. It was the first store building in Orchard. According to an ad in the April 29, 1891, newspaper, The Ewing Democrat, Elder sold dry goods, clothing, boots and shoes, furnishing goods and best family groceries. The store was renovated and the back half became living quarters for both Elder and his wife, Agnes (Aggie) Mitchell. The back corner also served as the first village Post Office.

The Perry Elder building was sold several times, but it is one of the few original buildings on Main Street to still stand today. Elder sold the store to Fred Hoscheit in 1903 and Hoscheit sold it to William Davidson. Davidson ran a general store in the building. In 1910, he sold the store to Joe and Ed George. The George brothers worked together to put a new building on the corner of Noble and Second streets and sold the building to Ora Goldsmith and his wife Maude in 1910.

According to the Neligh Register on Oct. 5, 1922, the couple operated the store as O.J. Goldsmith, which had dry goods, groceries, candies, tobacco, shoes and ready-to-wear lines. They ran the business until 1924, when Ora died. Maude Goldsmith kept the store thriving with the help of Oscar Barr and her sister Pearl Brown Johnson, according to The Frontier, an O'Neill newspaper, on May 2, 1957. After running the store until 1956, Maude sold the store to Raymond Bright.

Bright operated the store until 1960 when he sold the building to Art Erb. Art's son, Arvid Erb, took over the business in 1967, but he sold it to Tom LaFrenz in 1980.

"My uncle and aunt had it. I think it's been in the family forever except for about 18 months when Tom LaFrenz owned it," Todd Erb said.

In 1982, LaFrenz sold the store to Art Erb's grandson's, Todd Erb and Jeff Erb. Jeff Erb left the business a few years later, and Todd and his wife Leah have been the owners since.

TJ's Market had been located in the Perry Elder building, which is now known as Around the Horn Sports Shop.

In March 1994, Todd and Leah Erb built a new store just to the east of the Perry Elder building. TJ's Market is still located at this location on 2nd and Windham, along Highway 20.

Today, TJ's Market has five employees, including Todd and Leah Erb, plus their son, Kyle. Both Julia Schacht and Lisa Schacht have been long-time employees for the business.

Recently, TJ's Market has upgraded and with a new credit card machine along with 30 new doors on refrigeration units and freezers.

"It was starting to be a problem in a few spots, so we needed to do something," Todd Erb said.

There are more improvements in store for the future with flooring replacement planned.

TJ's Market is open from 8 a.m. through 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays.

The store is closed on Sundays.

"It's been a good business. We like watching the kids grow up over the years, and we're going to keep moving forward," said Todd Erb.