SNOW HILL, Md. -- The tight-knit community of Snow Hill gathered downtown on Tuesday to express unwavering support for the Patel family and Food-Rite. The show of love came after months of hurtful comments directed at the store's owner, TJ Patel, on social media, eventually leading to the stores closure.
Undeterred by the chilly February air, the crowd stood shoulder to shoulder to demonstrate the significance of the grocery store, gas station, and liquor store to the Snow Hill community. TJ Patel, visibly moved by the overwhelming support, addressed the crowd, acknowledging the difficulties they faced and announcing his families plan to reopen Food-Rite.
"It's tough, and I don't want to go down because people depend on us," said Patel. "I do not want to let them down because of them[people writing comments online]."
The reversal of the initial decision to close the store brought a sense of victory to the community.
"We won tonight, community, we won, we won, we won tonight and we're going to take it home," said Edward Lee, one of the events organizers.
The impact of Food-Rite on the Snow Hill community was emphasized by Lee, who highlighted the potential consequences of its closure on vulnerable members of the town.
"If that store closes, there are people who are not even here that are going to be hurt. And who would be hurt most in this town, if that store closes, would be our senior citizens, those who don't have transportation," said Lee.
Town officials told us on Monday that complaints about the quality of food at Food-Rite escalated into online harassment, prompting TJ and his family to make the difficult decision to shut down the store. However, the overwhelming display of community support led to a change of heart.
Rob Hall, a resident of Snow Hill, encouraged open communication among neighbors moving forward.
"Anyone has a problem, just talk, work together, you know we can do more together than we can in our little individual selves," said Hall.
The night concluded with a proclamation of support.
"One day a week, where we gonna shop at? We may not get it all there, but we're going to get some of it over at TJs," said Lee.
The Snow Hill community, through their actions, made it clear that their bond and support for local businesses like Food-Rite run deep.