Where in Kansas?
Story by Cecilia Harris and Nathan Pettengill
Old-time, independent grocery stores are often an anchor of the neighborhoods and communities they serve. In Cuba, for example, the Cuba Cash Store has sold food staples and other goods to the small community’s residents for more than 140 years. Owner Cherie Cardi’s connections to the store and the town run deep. “Both my parents were born here, and I was raised here as a kid,” she says. “I’m related to a very large part of the community.” Cardi bought the store in October 2016 from the previous owners, who retired after running the business for 30 years. They had bought the store from Cardi’s relatives, who ran it for decades as well. Cardi knew the responsibility she was taking on when she bought the store in the town of some 150 residents. “I felt if we had to close the store, we would close the town,” she says, describing the store’s role as a business and community center. “The boys have coffee here in the morning; people come in here for lunch all the time. I plan on putting in more tables and chairs because people come in and sit here to eat and escape the weather when it is hot or cold. A couple of days a week, I cook up something warm, such as beef and noodles and brisket so that people can have a warm lunch.” As a business owner and caretaker of the historic store, Cardi says she keeps the atmosphere much as it always has been. The limestone building’s wooden floor leads to the meat counter, where the commercial slicer and grinder still operate after decades of use. Regulars rave about the specialty sandwiches and wide variety of deli meats and cheeses. There is no scanner for the checkout; everything is registered by hand. The coolers and aisles are in the same place, and the historic floors have been the same for 14 decades.
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KANSAS! MAGAZINE | 2022 ISSUE 3
Riverton
Old-time grocery stores anchor communities
Mildred
Neighborhood Shopping
Hutchinson
Cuba
cuisine
“I wouldn’t change anything, because that is part of what this store is about,” Cardi says. As much as the store has been successful, Cardi says her business and small ones like hers are always fighting to survive—and that’s a struggle that can be won or lost depending on a community’s support. “People do need to support and shop local,” Cardi says. “Without local businesses, there is less support for the community and the town. It’s not just grocers, it’s florists, boutiques and gas stations. If we lose these community shops, then it is almost impossible to bring them back. Then we’re going to lose younger residents, and it will be harder to bring in people from the next generation. We need to support each other to keep each other going.” Facebook: Cuba Cash Store 785.729.3632
Above The Cuba Cash Store was built in 1883; this photo is believed to be from the 1890s. Opposite Cherie Cardi has owned and operated Cuba Cash store since 2016.
PHOTOGRAPHS David Mayes
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