Local Businessman Acquires Cee Bee Food Store: Looks to Build on Store's Legacy

Manish Patel (center) with son Parin and wife, Nisha, is the new owner of the Cee Bee Food Store as of March 7, 2025.

Darren Doyle, story and photos:
A staple of the Edmonson County business community has changed hands and the new owner is speaking about his plans to build upon the history and legacy of the county's only full scale, family-run grocery store.

Cee Bee Food Store was acquired by local businessman Manish Patel, owner of the Chalybeate Food Mart, on Friday, March 7, 2025 from longtime owners Jeff and Cindy Rich, who have owned and operated the store for the last 17 years. The store first came to Brownsville around 40 years ago.

Neither are strangers to Edmonson County and both are looking forward to the future of non-chain store.

We sat down with Manish in his home earlier this week as he shared his story, his thoughts, and his passion for Edmonson County.

Patel moved to the United States in 2008 from India and became a cashier at a gas station in Florida. He had several roles in various businesses over the next few years and quickly saw that entrepreneurship would be his goal. It became a passion.

In 2014, he and his wife, Nisha were able to purchase what is now the Chalybeate Food Mart. Making drastic improvements in the store's appearance, cleanliness, friendly service, along with competitive gas prices and hot food items, they built their home behind the store in 2017 as a testament of their commitment to the community.

The family has become part of the community as much as any newcomer ever could, greeting customers with a smile and handshake for years. They have also generously given back to the community in various ways, supporting local schools and programs, first responders, and all sorts of local causes and events. With his footprint firmly planted in Edmonson County, he is now looking for even more ways to improve local commerce while grasping the small town way of life in Brownsville and the surrounding communities.

"People have supported us in Chalybeate and we want to do more," he said. "Yes, I'm a businessman, but I want more opportunities to help this community."

Manish Patel greets customers at the Cee Bee Food Store on March 8, 2025.

The discussion about purchasing Cee Bee from Jeff and Cindy became serious this past December when they decided they would sell the store to him. Manish says that he loved the idea of owning a small town grocery store that was not a chain---something he could continue in Brownsville.

"It's always been a good store," he said. "Jeff and Cindy have always done a good job of taking care of their customers. We want to do the same and I want to make it even better. I want to negotiate better deals and prices from vendors and pass them along to customers. I will run a fair and honest business and will always treat people like family. I believe in family."

The Patels were certainly treating me like family while I was in their home as I experienced Indian cuisine for the first time. I was served fresh, homemade apoo tikki, a potato-based snack with cilantro, peppers, onions, and yogurt. It was great and they insisted I chase it with their fresh homemade ice cream that also had a little kick to it. While I was a little skeptical at first, my doubt was soon erased as I enjoyed their hospitality.

"My heart has always been for family and the community, first. Not just being in business. That's how I was raised. I always want to do this for the right reasons," he said.

"I plan on being at Cee Bee with customers and working to do what I need to do. I plan on keeping all the employees that want to stay and I'm giving them a raise. I've always looked at employees more like family than anything else."

We spoke with Jeff Rich about the decision to sell the store to the Patels. He has known them for several years and said he appreciates what they have done in the community.

"A few years ago I was approached by someone that was from somewhere else," Rich said. "He made a great offer to buy the store but he didn't know anybody here. He didn't have any local connections. I just thought that wasn't the right thing to do, since this has always been a locally run, family owned business, so we didn't sell it. Later, Manish came along and he started talking about buying it. After a few conversations I knew that he was the right person to take it over and we felt really good about selling it to him."

Patel said he eventually wants to expand the current hours of the store to serve more customers.

"We are looking at the different hours that we might add but we'll have to see," he said. "We want to open on holidays and make sure we're open during bad weather...we might have to skip mopping the store those days, in case we don't have many workers, but we'll try to take care of you," he joked.

The Patels share a moment with customers at the checkout line at Cee Bee.

He said he is also looking at expanding the inventory to carry more and newer products, so they may better compete with larger box stores. He is planning on keeping the same fresh meat and produce departments, two sections that locals have always enjoyed.

Manish said his brother-in-law Sam, who also pleasantly introduced himself during the interview, will be assisting with the running of the store. A grand re-opening is in the works sometime in the near future. He said it will be a big community event with vendors, discounts, and special offers with lots of fun activities planned.

As the Riches head towards retirement, Jeff described their experience with Cee Bee over the last 17 years as "a great opportunity."

"We've been able to work right here in Edmonson County where we live and we're very fortunate for that," he said. "We've had great employees and great customers. They have both been like our own family. We've heard so many great stories, but we've heard bad ones, too, and that's part of it. We've had so many connections. Having a local grocery in a small town like ours is very special and we appreciate this community so much. We just want to thank everyone for their support over the years."

Rich said he'd still be around for a least a short time, while the transition takes place.

Just before I left the Patel's home, Manish shared his passion for Edmonson County with an emotional statement.

"We are happy here," he said. "This is where we want to stay. Edmonson County has been good to me and this is a home for my family. It's just like it was for me in India--people here care and they know my name, my family, and my son. It's not like this in a bigger city. We just want to stay here and help make our community better."