By Maralisa Marra
Nestled right in downtown, Casey’s is truly the heart of the city where anyone can gather for a morning pick-me-up or a late-night snack in a feel-good, small-town atmosphere.
Since 1985, dedicated owners Jimmy and Liz Scudere have navigated their road to success with utmost determination, a devoted family, and a loyal community.
In 1985, the Scuderes opened the Enterprise Casey’s, and three years later, the Enterprise location was so successful that they were able to open a second location in downtown Shinnston.
Before opening Casey’s, Jimmy Scudere said he owned a little beer joint confectionery store that was in his family since the early 1920s. He was in business there from 1976 to the early 80s, but he said, “I knew that if we didn’t grow, we were going to die, and that’s the story of everything…So we try to keep growing and changing and adapting to what’s going on in this world today.”
With the Scuderes’ eagerness to grow and serve their community, Scudere said, “I got a lot of help from the community…If I listed all of the people, you’d run out of paper.”
He said when nobody else would loan him money, the Bank of Shinnston did, and they got him started, and so many more businesses helped him along the way. “I don’t think any individual by themselves could have got it done, and without my wife, I know I couldn’t have got it done,” Scudere said. He also said that they could not have done anything without their great employees.
Casey’s is called Casey’s Family Restaurant for a reason. Family members regularly contribute, Scudere said. “When we say family, it means family because everybody works. …everybody has pitched in,” he said.
They have seven business locations with three of them being restaurants in Enterprise, Shinnston, and Anmoore. The Anmoore location was opened in 2016. The other four locations consist of Hot Spots and convenience stores.
Just like back in 1985, the Scuderes are still growing, changing, and adapting with the times. Scudere calls it the “youth movement” for Casey’s. He said Black and Teal Concepts just designed the website and online ordering for Casey’s, and he hopes this will attract younger clientele and grow the takeout business. However, Scudere does not plan to stop there—he has a few more tricks up his sleeve for the future of Casey’s.
Over the years, the Shinnston community and surrounding communities have supported Casey’s and helped the business grow, and Scudere said he is so thankful to have such a loyal community. He also said, “We’re invested in the community…we donate to about everything that comes along.” As a business in the community of Shinnston, they want to better their community because “you can’t just take it all, you have to give some of it back,” Scudere said.
