Central Business Is About Serving People

By Woody Jenkins.

CENTRAL — The Central Business Awards ceremonies sponsored by the Central City News gave insight into the high quality of Central’s growing business community.

As in the past, businesses in this community are driven by an entrepreneurial desire to make a living by serving the people of Central.  For business owners, service is a way of life.  And now some Central businesses are reaching out across Louisiana, the nation, and even internationally, seeking new opportunities for service.

The earliest European settlers came to what is now Central during the 1790’s when this was part of the Spanish colony of West Florida.  Under the Spanish, commerce was tightly controlled, and pioneers had to trade among themselves or travel to stores in the village of Baton Rouge. Under the Spanish, Greenwell Springs Road was part of the Camino Real, or royal road, that ran all the way to Mexico City.  The Spanish had a trading post and stagecoach stop on Greenwell Springs Road at the Comite River.  But in 1810, the people of West Florida rose up against Spain and established the independent Republic of West Florida.  The United States soon took control, and commerce was less regulated.  A few trading posts and stores sprang up here, and by the 1850’s Greenwell Springs had several country stores.

Gradually, businesses owned by local residents opened on Greenwell Springs Road, Sullivan Road, Joor Road, and Canal Road (now Hooper).  The goal was always to help people in Central meet basic needs.  But most serious trading was done in Baton Rouge.  People in Central went to town once a month or a couple of times a year.  Even in the 1930’s, automobile traffic on Hooper Road was so sparse that kids played in the road and even took naps on the road with no fear of being hit by a car.

As the population of Central grew, more stores opened.  In the 1938 Baton Rouge telephone book, seven businesses in Central had telephones, including five grocery stores (W. S. Edwards on Sullivan, Red & White on Hooper, and the Red & White, Mrs. D.D. Smith, and Sam Sabella grocers, all on Greenwell Springs Road) and two gravel companies (George Denham and Magnolia Sand and Gravel).  Of course, most Central businesses did not have phones in those days.

By the 1950’s, there was a sizable business community in Central.  The Central High School yearbooks for 1952 and 1953 listed the following advertisers based in Central:

• Dixie Electric Membership

• Eisworth Store, general merchandise, Greenwell Springs

• Central Drug Store, Hooper at Sullivan, 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. seven days a week

• Browning Service Station

• Kelly’s Esso Service

• Central Nursery on Lovett

• White’s Saw Mill

• Magnolia Grocery

• Atkinson’s Grocery (now an antique shop) on Greenwell Springs

• Six Mile Grocery at Hooper at Plank Road

• Porche’s Store

• Crockett’s Meat & Produce

As the Central business community grew, an important milestone was reached in 1971 with the opening of the Central City Shopping Center, which was anchored by Winn-Dixie (now Pat’s Hardware) and TG&Y (now Lancaster House).  In 1972, Baker Bank opened a Central branch in the same shopping center.  It is now a branch of Hancock Bank.

The Central Jaycees were a center of activities for young Central business owners in the 1960’s and 1970’s.  In the 1980’s, Central businesses formed the Central Area Business Association, which was the predecessor of the current Central Chamber of Commerce.

One of the most revolutionary developments was the opening of Wal-Mart in 2001.  Today, more than half of all retail sales in the City of Central occur at Wal-Mart.

More than 600 businesses have occupational licenses in Central, and the Yellow Pages of the Central Community Directory consumes 50 pages.  The Central business community has come a long way from the trading posts of the early 1800’s.  With good schools, a low crime rate, and many unmet needs, business in Central seems destined to continue growing for years to come.