A locally-owned health food and supplement store is closing after being in business for more than 20 years. A to Z’s Fresh Air Fare, in the Missouri Theater Annex at 112 S. 8th Street, will close early next month.
In an E-mail to regular customers, A to Z’s owners James Fly and Connie Saxton said “it all began with a jar of peanut butter, 40 years ago, and ends now with a healthy farewell.” The store was closed for over a year by a fire in the Missouri Theater Annex in 2011.
“When we re-opened in 2012, we had been planning to operate the store for only a few years,” according to the E-mail.
The pair says Jim turns 65 this summer, and the couple will pursue other interests and goals. Mr. Fly is a Certified Health Coach, and says he is excited about accepting a limited number of clients after A to Z’s closes.
“It really did begin 40 years ago with a jar of peanut butter, because Mary Carol Prince couldn’t find a healthy jar of it in St. Joseph,” Fly said in the announcement. Ms Prince opened the store while Mr Fly was a journalism student in California.
“Today, of course, you can find a jar of natural peanut butter in just about any grocery store. In time, Mary expanded her offerings to include vitamins, supplements, bulk herbs, fresh carrot juice, and organic produce, to name a few. Mary, who still lives in this area, truly was a pioneer of the natural health movement in St. Joseph.”
Some of those products have been sold to two local businesses who will continue to carry particular products and product lines. One of them may surprise you. The AZ brand of supplements will be sold to SYDKO Enterprises, of St. Joseph, Missouri, otherwise known as Kovac’s Fireworks! Fly says Kovac’s Fireworks owner Becky Thomas has been a regular customer and fan of this line and couldn’t bear to see it not be available locally.
“Yes, the “hottest” new item at Kovac’s Fireworks will be AZ vitamins and supplements,” Fly says. The AZ supplement line will be sold at the Kovac’s King Hill Road location beginning May 15. The store’s line of essential oils has been sold to Jamie’s Secret Garden (811 North Woodbine).
For those who want to stock up, Fly says they will take special orders, paid in advance, through April 22. The store, located at 112 S. 8th in downtown St. Joseph, is currently liquidating stock with significant discounts. They will also sell a lot of the fixtures, including freezers, refrigerators, display cases, some antiques and other items.