James Green, owner of Green’s Minimart Photo: Urban News

By Johnnie Grant

James Green was recently honored by Riverlink for his contribution to the revitalization of the riverfront Depot district. 

He readily admits it was his grandmother’s vision that helped him recognize his own. As Green recounts this story with the Urban News, his feelings and emotions were clearly mixed.

“It was the summer of 1970 [when] my wife Frances and our two sons Kevin and Keith traveled from Shaker Heights, Ohio, to Asheville for a family reunion. The trip to Asheville was enjoyable, and I intended to just sit back and relax.”

But, he continues, “No sooner than I took a seat, family members began asking me for rides back and forth to the store. A loaf of bread here; cigarettes, beer, potato chips, candy there – and the ‘honey-do’s’ – kept me running! Everyone forgot just how far I had traveled to get here; I was looking for some rest. When I came back from a run to the store, I finally was able to set on the porch for a minute. After I took a seat my grandmother nonchalantly leaned over, tapped me on the shoulder, and said, ‘You need to move back home, son. You need to help your people, they’ve torn everything down around here!’”

As Green rode through his old neighborhood, he thought about his grandmother’s words. “I remembered growing up in the old neighborhood of Southside, and the beautiful ornate train station that I walked past most everyday as a child. I also remembered that one day I would board that train in search for a better life.”

And he got that better life through hard work and determination. But that visit home also brought other good memories of his childhood, “working at Mr. Owens and Mr. Hagan’s stores, delivering groceries to all the neighborhood families, earning money to buy school clothes and other personal necessities. It was a hard time, but I was able to finish school, join the army, and earn an associates degree in engineering. I married, and was living a good life,” said Green.

But the words of his grandmother kept haunting him. After years of agonizing over what his grandmother said, Green finally made the decision to move home to Asheville.

“My wife initially hit the ceiling when I announced my intentions to the family. Leaving all that we had acquired, the good jobs, and the amicable lifestyle we had became accustomed to, was unbelievable for my wife and children. But I personally felt convicted – convicted to do what I could for my home-town community,” said Green.

In 1980, with the help of a business loan from the old Clyde Savings & Loan (now Home Trust Bank), Green acquired property on Depot Street and built Green’s Minimart to offer the historic community necessary services: a convenience store, Laundromat, and the popular take-out foods delicatessen.

“For the past thirty years I feel that I’ve done what I was compelled to do. My store has never been broken into or robbed. The community knows I support them however I can. I want the youngsters here to realize that education is the key to success.”

James Green got an education, and he also made a success of his business and his life. Unlike many successful men, he also knows exactly where his own priorities lie. “My biggest accomplishment in life was to educate both my sons, and to see them both walk across the stage at Morehouse College.”

The walk he walks is the best advertisement for what he believes. “It’s not that I came home to take anything from my community,” says James Green. “It’s about that old spiritual I’ve heard many times in my life,” said Green. “If I can help somebody, then my living shall not be in vain."