McKays in Leonardtown- How long do you give it?

NorthBeachPerso

Honorary SMIB
Oh man, YUM!

But it's just a matter of time for all locally owned businesses. Between the chains and the internet, it's tough to compete. In my travels I've found a handful of cities that don't allow chains - it's all one of a kind Mom & Pop, even the grocery store - and they're doing just fine, but they're few and far between. Once Walmart and all the others show up, that's that.
But you know you see that here in all types of business. People say they want locally owned businesses but then won't patronize the ones that there are, instead they go to a chain.

I was at a Calvert P and Z hearing one time about having Home Depot/Lowe's come to the County. One attendee stood up and said that he was tired of living in a County that he had to leave to buy a hammer. Dave Sneade was sitting a couple rows ahead of him and the meeting was chaired by Maurice Lusby.

I also had one new resident here complain about the same thing a few years ago. I asked him how he got to work. He'd been driving by Sneade's Hardware in Owings for a couple years, he thought it was a restaurant (even with the lumberyard in back).

Or the ones that complain about not having a good seafood place. When you tell them about several they then tell you something on the order of, "No, I mean like a Red Lobster".
 

spr1975wshs

Mostly settled in...
Ad Free Experience
Patron
^My Mrs. and I like to choose locally owned and operated businesses when they have what we need or want.
We do not do a lot of shopping, tried to support McKays...
 

slowlane

Member
Will miss their large green muffins, pistachio flavored, and some muffins are baked with 7-Up drink. Apparently imported from Arizona.

Unusual down-home items such as "scuppernong" grapes.
 

Savage

New Member
Charlotte Hall installed self-checkout a few weeks ago. I’m guessing they are not planning on going anywhere anytime soon.🤷🏻‍♂️
 

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
But you know you see that here in all types of business. People say they want locally owned businesses but then won't patronize the ones that there are, instead they go to a chain.

I was at a Calvert P and Z hearing one time about having Home Depot/Lowe's come to the County. One attendee stood up and said that he was tired of living in a County that he had to leave to buy a hammer. Dave Sneade was sitting a couple rows ahead of him and the meeting was chaired by Maurice Lusby.

I also had one new resident here complain about the same thing a few years ago. I asked him how he got to work. He'd been driving by Sneade's Hardware in Owings for a couple years, he thought it was a restaurant (even with the lumberyard in back).

Or the ones that complain about not having a good seafood place. When you tell them about several they then tell you something on the order of, "No, I mean like a Red Lobster".

Isn't that annoying? It's hard not to lose my temper with the chain store/restaurant people.
 
Charlotte Hall installed self-checkout a few weeks ago. I’m guessing they are not planning on going anywhere anytime soon.🤷🏻‍♂️

The self-checkouts are likely from California, not something new.

Here is the issue with McKays. They have always had a lot of support because of being a local business, in spite of not always being competitive. Take Leonardtown for instance. When that opened it was a fairly premium store. Slowly over the years it has slowly declined to where it is now. The stores have always had a slight bad produce smell to them, higher prices than national chains, and worse customer service. However people supported them because they were a local business. Now you can't complete a whole grocery trip there, so the issue is forced.

Then you compare it to Leonardtown Food Lion. It is nice, clean, and well stocked. It is owned by Giant now, so it has good brands at prices that are the same or lower than Walmart. The only way McKays could compete is to move upmarket with almost a Whole Foods experiance. Their Leonardtown store started with almost that intention, but has declined over the years.

That is kind of the pattern though. The Hollywood store was amazing after they renovated it. It was like nothing in the county, had a ton of premium stuff, a nice butcher and seafood department, and great liquor store. They even made great doughnuts. I remember taking relatives visting from Baltimore to see it and pretty much went there every day. Then 6 months in, it started to decline with yellow signs everywhere about not being able to buy prepared foods with food stamps. Now pretty much the whole deli, butcher, bakery, prepared foods, etc is closed or has one person working all the stations. They advertise pizza night on their outside sign, but have not had pizza in months. They did not have "internet" for weeks to take apple pay. The store is half stocked, and the prices are double every other store. Like 10 dollars for a frozen pizza.

Then they opened the California store and I want in and was like "Holy Hell, this is almost as nice as Harris Teeter". I was impressed they pulled it off. The issue of course is they were higher in price, and being in Leonardtown, there was no way I would drive past Harris Teeter and Giant to go there. I wonder how many people in places like Wildewood felt the same.

All other that said, I remember stuff like this happening with them in the past where they would not have food or there were rumblings of bills not being paid. They switched wholesalers at one point I remember because of it. They did however bounce back. I know the two Shoppers stores they had were bought from the wholesaler that owned shoppers and was looking to unload them..I assume they got a good deal.

They did get almost a million dollars in PPP Monday.
 

stgislander

Well-Known Member
PREMO Member
I also enjoyed shopping at the Leonardtown McKays. They occasionally had Frostie Root Beer.

It physically a nice big store. I'd hate to see it sit empty. Maybe we can entice another Aldi's or a Lidl.
 

Sneakers

Just sneakin' around....
It physically a nice big store. I'd hate to see it sit empty.
I always thought that about the Great Mills store before UHaul took it over. The place was immense and had tons and tons of stock, but few customers. Couldn't imagine how they paid the electric bill.
 

Kyle

ULTRA-F###ING-MAGA!
PREMO Member
I also enjoyed shopping at the Leonardtown McKays. They occasionally had Frostie Root Beer.

It physically a nice big store. I'd hate to see it sit empty. Maybe we can entice another Aldi's or a Lidl.
Yeah I like that store. When I lived in Leonardtown a few years ago it was really convenient, especially having the liquor store right next to it. Lots of unusual stuff you can’t find just anywhere.

It’s a shame.
 

PrchJrkr

Long Haired Country Boy
Ad Free Experience
Patron
McKay's just updated their POS system. Why, if they are closing?
 
McKay's just updated their POS system. Why, if they are closing?

Again, I do not know anything as a fact, but updating the POS does not mean anything. I remember asking 3 months ago if they had a new brand of Liquor and was told they would have nothing new for a while because of issues with their "server"..which is part of the POS system. The new POS does not look as nice as the old one, and simply may be a replacement because they owed money to the old POS company.
 

PrchJrkr

Long Haired Country Boy
Ad Free Experience
Patron
Again, I do not know anything as a fact, but updating the POS does not mean anything. I remember asking 3 months ago if they had a new brand of Liquor and was told they would have nothing new for a while because of issues with their "server"..which is part of the POS system. The new POS does not look as nice as the old one, and simply may be a replacement because they owed money to the old POS company.
This could very well be true, but it seems like quite a big undertaking for someone just planning to throw in the towel. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see. I find myself avoiding the place as much as possible due to their meager offerings lately. I still indulge in their fried chicken and in house coleslaw every now and again.
 

mitzi

Well-Known Member
I also enjoyed shopping at the Leonardtown McKays. They occasionally had Frostie Root Beer.

It physically a nice big store. I'd hate to see it sit empty. Maybe we can entice another Aldi's or a Lidl.

I love Frostie Root Beer! Food Lion has had it recently.
 
Top