News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Jake Straley sets out a bottle of whiskey while working at Jimmie Harant’s Party Store on Friday. Staley and his wife Jillian announced last week that they had purchased the store, which has been in business for 72 years.

ALPENA — The historic and popular Jimmie Garant’s Party Store in Alpena has new owners, but they promise to continue to provide what has made the store flourish for decades: friendly service and a wide variety of products.

Earlier this month, Jake and Jillian Straley purchased the liquor store, which was built in 1953, and are in the process of settling into it.

Jake Straley said that when he had the opportunity to buy the long-time business, he jumped at it because the store has always been special to him since he worked in it while in high school.

He said the store, its staff, and the people in Northeast Michigan have a bond, and that is something he plans on maintaining.

“The store really is a staple in the community, and it has seen generations of customers over the years,” he said. “It has been here for 72 years and it is still going strong.”

Jake Straley said the purchase of the store has been in the works for about eight months. He said it took so long because it needed the state to sign off on Straley selling alcohol.

“Getting a liquor license is a long process,” he said.

Straley said he intends to make a few changes to the store and, at least for the immediate future, operations will continue to be the same as they have been. He did say at some point, he may upgrade the store’s payment system to help with tracking of inventory, and further down the road, he has some ideas that he believes will be exciting. He said he wasn’t ready to discuss his future plans right now.

“We’re excited and we are going to work hard to keep that family and community feel at the store,” he said. “That is something that has always been important to the store and why people are loyal to it. Nothing is going to change in that regard.”

When Straley broke the news about the purchase of the store on Facebook, he said he was overwhelmed by the positive reaction and the people congratulating him and wishing him success. He said that helped relieve any nerves about buying the store he may have had.

“I just kept watching how the comments, shares, and views keep going up, and it was just insane,” he said. “Word really spread fast and people seemed excited about it.”

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@TheAlpenaNews.com. Follow him on X @ss_alpenanews.com.