RIVERSIDE, Mo. – You know the old saying: “The X marks the spot”. Well, in Riverside, the “X” is moving.
Riverside’s Red X, the store that has operated in the same spot for 75 years, plans to open its new replacement location at 8 on Wednesday.
The new location is about 200 yards east of the old shop. Anyone who’s been to the old Red X knows it’s not your typical grocery store. Quirky would be one way to describe it, with an old time layout and antiques throughout the store.
Owner Zeke Young said they’ve put a lot of effort into maintaining that identity, a special feeling that some people consider lucky when they buy something like lottery tickets.
An old Riverside fire truck will greet customers as they enter the front doors. They will also see a quote that Young attributes to his father.
“The home of high water, hot fires and low prices,” Young said.
“And that was one of Dad’s sayings. In ’51 and ’52 there was a flood, then they had two floods. And finally in ’57 the shop caught fire so he added ‘burning fires,’” Young added.
The aisles are named after streets in Riverside.
“See, there’s Argosy Casino Parkway, Northwest Platte Drive, Woodland Road,” Young said.
Continuing his father’s legacy was paramount during the design process, Young said.
“It got to a point: It had more than 10,000 doorbells at one time,” she said, gesturing to the newly hung doorbells from the ceiling of the updated shop.
Costume jewelry and antiques contribute to the reputation that lottery tickets sold at the old Riverside Red X were lucky and perhaps more likely to be winners.
“Our position, our position. We get a lot of people from the area and people are from Kansas too, but we are just one place. I was blessed,” Young said.
He said it’s probably a combination of position and luck.
There will also be new amenities in the store including a bar, tasting area and a specialty room for high-end spirits.
“You can feel like, this still has some juice in it. You can feel it every time it bobs back and forth,” said Jen Boyd, vice president of Riverside Red X and daughter of Young, holding up a fire truck-shaped jug.
Initially unsure whether the decanters held bourbon or floodwater, Boyd said they’re making a fortune by relocating from the old space.
“I guess the better question is: What didn’t need an update?” Boyd said.
“Nothing was functional. My grandfather, every time he put it back together after all the flooding, he put it back together to try and get it open as fast as possible which was great and we needed that. But it was kind of like you need to go really far for our deli counter,” Boyd said.
“Our butchers are going to love this,” Young said, walking up to a wall of school-style bells.
“When you want their service, then you have to go up,” he said, pressing a button that leads to a series of dings.
Young said it will be an adjustment for customers. As he says, the only person who likes change is a child. But he thinks the move will bring luck in itself.
“We might even raise it, since we’re higher than that shop. But yeah, everything will be fine,” Young said.
