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In 2022, Stanton’s Shopping Center in Alvin, Texas, celebrated 100 years in business with a community event that featured live a bluegrass band, food, giveaways and savings opportunities for shoppers.
The event was held in conjunction with a Stanton family reunion, which drew more than 200 members of the Stanton family. The chamber of commerce was in attendance along with Alvin Mayor Paul Horn, and the event culminated in a dance held at Scopel Square.
Throughout the 100th anniversary celebration, select shoppers received giveaways from vendors including Channellock and Rust-Oleum, and a tool kit from Milwaukee was raffled off. Sausage rolls and catered fare rounded out the day’s offerings. As part of the celebration, Stanton Meats “turned back the clock on inflation” and offered its 30-pound freezer value meat package for $60 for a limited time.
“It has been our family’s privilege to serve this community for the past 100 years,” says owner Paul Stanton. “It was wonderful to see our extended family and our faithful customers mingling and celebrating Stanton’s amazing heritage together.”
The family business was established in 1922 by E. J. Stanton and his son, George, who together sold coal and wood. George soon added a 2,000-square-foot expansion to stock animal feed for local farmers. Over the next few years, the building and services expanded time after time, growing to include grocery sales, then hardware. Paul says George was called the “Merchant Prince of Brazoria County” and admired for his six big stores in one.
George was also praised for having one of the finest Hereford cattle herds in Texas; he won the prestigious title of “Grand Champion Carload of Steers” at The Houston Fat Stock Show twice, in 1934 and 1947. Keeping the tradition alive, George’s son Warren worked on the family ranch from 1945 to 1956, showing cattle and winning many championships around the country before joining his father in running the store.
The family featured cuts from their own herd in the grocery store, a tradition that has continued through the generations. In 2006, the Stantons added a small USDA-approved meat plant to the operation, which includes a smokehouse for bacon and sausage.
Today, Stanton’s Shopping Center consists of three branches run by three brothers: Neal, who started in 1985, operates the feed store; Paul, who started in 1986, manages the hardware store; and Allen, who started in 1983, oversees the grocery store and meat market. The next generation of the Stanton family has expressed interest in continuing the legacy of the family-owned and -operated business.
“I think my great-grandfather, grandfather and father would all be proud of where we are now, but we know it wouldn’t be possible without the support of the Alvin community,” Paul says. “We’re grateful for their loyalty over the years and we look forward to another hundred years of service.”
Read more about other retailers with benchmark anniversaries in our Milestones section.
