You really have to give it to this young man...how many of us would have had the guts much less the ambition to buy a little grocery store in a day and time when big corporate stores seem to be taking over? God bless this young man and his town for supporting him. He is an inspiration to us all!!!!

Nick Graham is no longer a 17-yo boy. He became a man when he bought the closed grocery store. Now if the school can give him credit for what he's doing, it would sure help him out a lot. All I can say is that this young man has certainly put many people to shame for doing what needed to be done to keep his community growing. He's trying like crazy to break that downward spiral that so many small towns seem to be going through in the United States. It's a scary thought when you no longer have a grocery store in town, which is the backbone of the community. We have the same thing happening in Washington State. When I drive to the Tri-Cities (Kennewick, Richland, Pasco), I go through several small towns with no grocery stores and you can see the populations dropping. But they're building more homes, so they'll have to get a grocery store close by soon, so who knows. The farmers are selling their farmland to developers, which is why they're able to build those homes, and that means less people selling at the farmers' market, or finding products that you can grow here that you can't get else where, or are shipped in from Chile, Ecuador, Australia which defeats the purpose of locally grown foods. Anyway, here, here...to Nick Graham. What a man!!!!

I miss the old grocery store we had in my neighborhood when I was growing up. Always knew the someone behind the counter. Not a stranger.

Hey man I thank you really for the post which narrates the spirit of the young boy. He is really an inspiration for us, as Angela said.

Yeah I agree with Mac

This should be an example to the rest of Americans to do the right thing. Nothing more, nothing less.

For sure not easy to become the The Youngest Grocer In America . A funny title and record to have, but good for him .

I'm proud of Nick for doing what he did, but does anyone know how he is doing?

A friend works in the grocery industry, and they are getting killed with fuel rising increasing product cost, and the general cost of goods going up too.  They aren't able to take retail increases in proportion to the cost increases.

 Margins are going down, and profitability is tough.  The previous owners probably had that problem.

I hope he does well, as there are few independents these days, with the 600ll gorilla (wmart) killing off the small guys!

Wow a truly amazing story and very inspiring! Hopefully he can keep it up doing it! I've been working in a grocery store for a while now and it is very big step for such a young kid to take over the store. I agree with Mike about the previous owner, because there has to be some sort of reason why he sold the store. The most logical one would be that the profit margins are too low.

What an inspiration! Thanks to Nick for following a dream and taking a chance. And thanks to the community that stands by him!

I love inspiration! I have a great respect for those who choose to follow their dreams, and I am truly inspired when someone with a dream follows through and the community shows up!

That is one of many things I absolutely love about rural America!

Thanks to Nick and the community in Truman -- You're my fireworks this year!

I hope this guys is doing okay.  Prices on goods keeps rising, and his margins keep getting slimmer and slimmer.  Good luck!

Pretty impressive to have a calling, accept it, and then follow through with and make it happen. Even if the financial investment doesn't pay off I'm sure the experience he gains will be rewarding in itself. It takes guts to invest in yourself and your community....Very Impressive

Even if he doesn't make it, starting a business when you are that young is vital ... he will make it sooner or later.

Rumor has it that the store was recently sold.

It's a shame if he sold his store. But maybe the best thing.  With the economy in such disarray, it's tougher and tougher.  We are hearing that meat pricing is going to be up 100% by winter!

It's funny how Nick never went grocery shopping before buying the store!  What a great story, and the community really appears to be helping him.

What a heartwarming story. 

I'm from the UK and of course, our economy is really suffering too.  It made me smile to read that, Nick has brought energy and enthusiasm and deserves his success.  It's good to read positive stories after all the doom and gloom!

A 17 year old boy shows us grown up that even in bad times like today it is possible not only to get a job even better to become a selfemployed business man. We all can learn from him. Wish him the best and that no big supermarket will come to his town.