The History Of
Conrad & Hinkle
Conrad & Hinkle was established in 1919 by W.E. Conrad and E. Odell Hinkle and has remained in the same location since it first opened it’s doors. In 1927, W.E. Conrad sold his interest to E. Odell Hinkle after an illness. Instead of changing the name of the store to “Hinkle’s Grocery”, E. Odell Hinkle said it would be cheaper to leave the sign the same instead of changing it so the name has remained the same.
The store was renovated in about 1939 to expand the meat department into an area that used to be the old post office. Despite the renovations, the original decorative tin ceiling and concrete floors are still there today.
In 1950 after serving 2 years in the Navy during World War II and graduating from The University of North Carolina, Odell Hinkle’s son, Dwight Hinkle, took over the daily operations of the store. Longtime employees Boyd “Barney” Allen and Bruce Hartley (over 40 years each) helped Dwight run the store.
Two of Dwight’s sons, Jim and Lee, started working at the store full time in the 80s and after Dwight retired in 1990 Lee took over the daily business operations.
