Page 51 - Blairsville NCG 2022

By Michael Hall
W hen you’re at Alexander’s Store in Blairsville, you’re family. And

that’s how owners Mark and Kennetha Alexander want it to be.
The store is built on family, and more specifically, over three
generations of Alexanders.
In 1953 Mark’s grandparents, Hoyt and Ruby, purchased a small trading
post in the Trackrock area of Union County, just outside Blairsville. They sold
feed and seed, grocery items, and gas, but Hoyt quickly became well known for
going out of his way to meet the needs of his customers.
“I’ve heard stories of how Hoyt would drive to another town to get an item
for a customer if he didn’t have it,” said Emily Avery, who manages marketing
efforts for the store.
Soon, the store was much more than a quick roadside stop. Hoyt and Ruby
began carrying clothes, hardware, and other items that otherwise might have
required a long trip to a larger city.
“It was a time when the community could get whatever they needed at
Alexander’s,” Avery said.

I like to think Alexander’s is a good

representation of a small-town business

that is inviting to everyone.

Emily Avery, Marketing Manager

Hoyt and Ruby eventually passed the store Eddy and Sandy’s son Mark took over, and
down to their youngest son Eddy, who took over today the store is more than 50,000 square feet of
in 1977 when he was just 24 years old. Just a year everything from guns and ammunition to furniture
later in 1978, Eddy met his future wife Sandy, and and décor. Family values and traditions are deeply
together they set out to build on the dream of rooted in the store, and that is much of what attracts
turning Alexander’s into a department store. Eddy locals and visitors to it, Avery said.
created the hardware, appliances, and sporting goods “A lot of people in the community visited the
departments while Sandy added a robust offering store as children or young adults when Hoyt owned
of clothing and shoes to the mix. In the process, it,” she said. “I think we represent that mom-and-pop
walls came down, additions were built, and the feel. Mark and Kennetha are incredible employers
store blossomed. and we all treat each other as family.”
By the mid-1990s, furniture was added to the The original building is still used and is part of
mix, and the store that operated as a True Value what has grown into a store large enough for an all-
hardware outlet was selling it all. day experience, Avery said.

877-745-5789 • visitblairsvillega.com Alexander’s Store 47