Remaining true to the basics of good business and customer service has served Horaney’s Feed Store well over the years.
This year, Horaney’s is celebrating its 80th anniversary, making it one of the oldest continuously operated family businesses in the city’s history.
“We really have a good relationship with our customers. Many of them are more than just customers to us – they have become friends,” said Betty Horaney, who owns and operates the store with her son, Al.
Harry Horaney founded his namesake store in 1940 at 207 N. Court St. in Longview. When it started, it was just a feed store, Betty Horaney recalled.
After her husband, Albert, returned home from college at Texas A&M University, he began helping his parents with the store. Albert Horaney saw a need to diversify the products offered at the store in order to continue growing.
“He started bringing in rose bushes and insecticides, and the business grew from there into what it is now,” Betty Horaney said. The store now offers a vast array of home garden, farm and agriculture products.
In 1993, the business moved to its current home at 301 W. Methvin as it continued to grow.
Throughout the years, Horaney’s has received many accolades and local recognition. After Albert Horaney passed away, the City of Longview honored him by renaming three blocks of Court Street to Horaney Street. Additionally, in 2005, Horaney’s was named small Texas Business of the Year by Baylor University’s Institute for Family Business.
But for Betty Horaney, the fondest memories are of her customers over the years.
“We have many customers who have come to us for many years and they have really become such good friends,” she said. “I have appreciated their friendships very much over the years.”
In an effort to give back to the community that has supported her and her family over the years, Horaney gives her time to many volunteer activities. Her favorite, she says, is the annual Thanksgiving Food Drive that provides a Thanksgiving meal to hundreds of families in the city.
“I really enjoy the Thanksgiving Food Drive because I feel like I’m able to help a lot of people have food at the holidays that they otherwise would not,” she said.
Additionally, over the years, the business has supported many churches by helping with gardens, she said.
“When we see a need in the community, we try to serve because this community has been so good to us over the years,” she said. “We just try to do our part as best we can by giving back.”
With its 80th anniversary, Horaney said she sees a bright future for the family business.
“It’s our intention to continue operating the store for as long as we can, and we’ll continue trying to meet our customers’ needs,” she said.
For more information about Horaney’s, visit the store at 301 W. Methvin St. in Longview or call (903) 753-3661.