In the 1940’s, Mr. W.J. Harris established Harris Grocery. Unfortunately, he had to go to fight in World War II and left his family to run the store. Upon his return from WWII, he continued running Harris Grocery with the help of his wife, Kathleen. He also had a rolling store that I’m sure some of you remember. He would drive all over the county to provide groceries for folks that couldn’t come to town. The rolling store had everything from kerosene to mullet fish to candy. For many years he struggled to make ends meet.

In 1955, he had his grand opening of Harris Grocery in the building where the store is currently in operation. As many businesses came to Hawkinsville, including the first supermarket, he worried about whether his business would last and how he could provide for his family if it didn’t. Times were hard and in the 1960’s, Mr. W.J. integrated his own recipes for sausage and cured meats. Some of those include maple sugar cured hams, souse meat, cooked chittlins, hickory smoked slab bacon, and smoked sausage smoked in a smoke house the old fashion way. His business overcame the hard times thanks to many devoted customers.

In 1982, he retired and his daughter, Karen Dollar, began running the store. In 1985, Karen and Greg stared a new line of hunting and fishing supplies and began processing deer – we still have the best deer sausage around. We sell deer stands, ammunition, rods and reels, bait, feeds and more. We lost Mr. W.J. to a heart attack in 1987.

In 1988, Karen and Greg Dollar remodeled Harris Grocery and had a grand re-opening of Harris Kuntry Meats and Grocery. Once again our family worried as another supermarket, Food Lion, came to town. The supermarkets had already put several other small grocery stores out of business. Ironically, Harris Grocery was around to see the close of that first supermarket even though Mr. W.J. wasn’t. We know he was proud ---- proud of his business and proud of his daughter and her husband that kept the business running.

In 1999, another dimension was added to Harris Kuntry Meats and Grocery. It is called Granny’s Garden Shop and it has been a great success. We offer the best selection of annuals and perennials around as well as garden pots, fountains, benches, and many other garden accessories. We also create mixed containers and baskets for the public to buy as well as having the public bring us their containers to create. So come see us in the spring when everything is coming alive, our outdoor garden is breathtaking.

In October of 2006, Greg and Karen’s son, Chris Dollar, bought the business and began running it. After some time, Chris’ wife, Carrie came on board full time to assist Chris with the business. We still use the same great recipes as Mr. W.J. and Chris has added his own marinades and has the grill hot every Saturday with ribs, chicken, tenderloins, boston butts, turkey breasts and more, so place your orders early, cause it’s some kinda good. Harris Kuntry Meats and Grocery is still the same great store it’s always been. We have the best homemade sausage and meats, an excellent garden center, and customer service like no other, so if you’re ever in the area, stop by and see us, we’ll be glad to see you.