To simply describe Phil Deering as a life-long local grocer and civic leader in Empire seems too matter-of-fact, too understated.. But that’s just the way this humble man would have it. Phil was born in 1947 and attended the old Empire school. His grandfather Mark Deering, Sr. had a farm and grocery/meat market in Empire before WWII. “Way back in the 30′s there were 3 meat stores and 2 general stores in Empire when the lumber companies were here,” Phil tells. “My uncle Warren had a grocery at the foot of Benzonia Trail” (Co. Rd. 677). Phil’s father Mark Jr. and uncle Warren built the current grocery and the bar (now the Friendly Tavern, owned by Kathleen Weisen and son Mike) when the two men returned from the war. “Mark and Warren used to sail over to the Manitou Islands to butcher the cattle for the farmers over there and then sail the meat back for their meat market,” Phil reports. “Imagine trying to unload beef quarters from a rocking boat onto a wet dock!”

Contact information:
10233 West Front Street, Empire … (231) 326-5249

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Tags: Deerings Market

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