photograph by justin fox burks
Rick James treasures a photo of when he first came to Memphis in 1987 to work for the grocery business Malone & Hyde. The picture shows him being welcomed to town by Malone & Hyde owner Pitt Hyde and longtime Memphis entrepreneur Art Seessel. “They were revered by those of us in the grocery business,” he says, still with awe in his voice.
It was the beginning of James’ Memphis experience in the grocery business, one that has thrived with innovation and a keen sense of community. And recognition for his work continues. He was recently chosen by the Tennessee Grocers and Convenience Store Association as its 2024 Retailer of the Year. What he brought to Memphis was plenty of experience, starting when he persuaded the grocer in his hometown of Union, Missouri that even though he was technically 15 years old, he was in his 16th year and thus was eligible to be employed sacking groceries. The grocer was amused and hired him on the spot.
James was an observer and learned quickly. He also had an aptitude for math and decided to major in accounting at Morehead State University with an eye to settle in with one of the big-numbers firms. But the dean of the business school pulled him aside and asked why he hadn’t signed up for an interview with Kroger for store management. “You think they don’t have accountants at Kroger?” the dean asked.
He interviewed and got the job, but his junior accountant buddies were puzzled that he worked in a grocery store. He told them, “I’m a human resource manager. I’m a counselor. I have to understand union contracts. I’m an engineer. I have to understand how to see what’s wrong with this compressor. I have to be a time-study expert in scheduling and a community customer service liaison to the customers and store sanitation and food safety. There’s so much going on that it’s fun and it’s fast and the days go by quickly.”
James, at 21, went on to become the youngest store manager in the Kroger company at the time. And the degree in accounting came in handy, so much so that he tells aspiring entrepreneurs that they should go for it. “You’ve got to know where the money is,” he says. He could read operating statements and use that knowledge to resurrect underperforming stores.
“I thought to myself, if I’m ever in this position where I’m that guy and I’m making decisions and I’m calling shots, then the one thing I’m not going to do is take away decisions that most affect the customer from the person who is closest to the customer.” — Rick James
When James finally acknowledged he wasn’t likely to become CEO of Kroger, he allowed himself to be recruited to Malone & Hyde. That job was as a retail counselor and he traveled all over the region to grocery stores large and small. He loved it. He’d listen to the stories of these independent grocers and get to know not only what they needed, but who they were and how they liked to do things.
As James got more into the grocery business and the community, he decided to work for Lex Sewell and Dan Allen, who were buying stores in the area, including Piggly Wigglys, Big Stars, and Food Rites. In the early 1990s, the owners made James president of Sewell-Allen. A few years later, after Sewell died and Allen decided to retire, James helped sell off some of their 15 stores, but acquired four of them.
The resulting company, Castle Retail Group, is very much a family affair. In fact, Castle is an acronym of his wife and children’s names: Cathy, Addie, Sarah, Taylor, Lauren, and Eric. And 2024 marks the company’s 20th anniversary with three Cash Saver stores, High Point Grocery, and South Point Grocery. “That’s huge to me,” says James. “We have about 25 employees that have been with us since day one that are still here, and I’m excited we’re going to honor them and what they’ve done to make it work.”
But making it work is also the job of the CEO, and James stays mindful of what he observed years ago. He saw in the big corporate world how higher-ups would issue orders on what the stores would be required to do next. And he saw how sometimes there was pushback from team members who wanted to understand why.
“You can’t just throw the paper down on the desk and say, ‘do this.’ They won’t stand for it,” he says. “I thought to myself, if I’m ever in this position where I’m that guy and I’m making decisions and I’m calling shots, then the one thing I’m not going to do is take away decisions that most affect the customer from the person who is closest to the customer.”
His three Cash Saver stores use the “Cost + 10%” formula to price most store items, a way to keep the grocery bill low. James also owns a couple of smaller stores that fit neatly into the kind of neighborhood business model that he admires.
One such independent store is High Point Grocery, a family business previously owned by Charles Shirley, with whom James had worked for years. Just after the Covid pandemic started, Shirley decided to sell the store, so in 2020, James made the acquisition and modernized it without sacrificing the mom-and-pop feel.
And then in 2022, he opened the South Point Grocery on South Main, bringing a much-needed presence Downtown. He partnered with contractor Tom Archer to restore a historic building and establish a full-service grocery store. And he reflects on its success: “I’ve never had so many five-star Google reviews in my life. They’re fun to read.”
About CEO of the Year
For more than a decade, Memphis Magazine has celebrated a group of CEOs every year, recognizing visionaries and executives who go above and beyond to elevate their companies and their community. And every year, we gather these leaders at a sponsored awards breakfast to honor them in front of their peers and the community.
The challenge is in deciding which of them should receive the honor. Memphis is bold, creative, and forward-thinking, so those who are selected by magazine staff members do more than lead a successful organization. We like to see leaders that value innovation, who pay particular attention to the welfare and treatment of employees, and who give back to the community. It is these efforts that make a difference, and these results that provide a reason to celebrate.
The awards breakfast is April 16th from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at Hardin Hall at Memphis Botanic Garden. Prices are $200 for a table of 10 or $30 per ticket. Tickets are at bit.ly/memceo
The 2024 CEO of the Year is sponsored by eBiz Solutions and ProTech Services Group.
