Burt Smith Groceries

PLAY AUDIO

A noted grocery store of early Wichita sat on what is currently a parking lot next to the Larkspur restaurant. Originally a grocery store owned by Jim Creighton and Dave Siebert, it was purchased in 1885 by Thomas Fahey and Sons. The Wichita Beacon alluded to a “recent savage attack in the Eagle” that may have contributed to the sale. A subsequent advertisement implored Thomas Fahey’s “many friends” to “extend all proper encouragement to [Fahey’s sons]” as he hoped that the grocery store would be a way to launch them into success. They didn’t stay in business long, as Burt Smith purchased the store not six months later. Smith was described in the Beacon as “an energetic young mechanic full of enterprise and vim.” He’s pictured here in a photo dated circa 1890, so Smith apparently stayed in business much longer than the Fahey brothers.