Local favorite under new ownership; Bailey’s Market changes hands

Bailey’s Market in Niter, in between Grace and Thatcher, has been seeing some changes over the past month or two since a new group took over ownership of the beloved roadside fixture.  The name will remain the same, in honor of Kent and Colleen Bailey, who had owned the market for “fifty-two and a half years” according to one of the new owners, Daphney Medina.  She, along with her husband Esau, couple Dean and Lindsey Fox, and Daphney’s brother Ryan Rasmussen have taken over the business from Kent and Colleen.

“We wanted to make sure to keep it local,” Medina said.  When there was a question of exactly what would become of the local store, she and the others felt that they needed to make sure it didn’t end up out of community control.  “We just thought how wonderful it would be to keep it small town.  The Baileys also agreed that they didn’t want a big out of town company to come and buy it and turn it into something that was not what the locals were used to.”

So far, the change has been good for both the customers and the new owners.  “It’s a good opportunity for us to get to talk to people in the community, and provide the kind of service that they’re used to.”

The market is something of a rarity, in that it maintains active fuel pumps without much of a markup in cost.  A small town gas station with those qualities can be hard to find, and offerings of premium, ethanol free, and regular unleaded are currently in place.  “We try to be very competitive with our gas prices,” Daphney said.  “We stay within a few cents of the local stores one way or the other.”  Plans to add a diesel tank have been under discussion.

The fact that the business will largely remain operating in an uninterrupted way is good news for the locals who enjoy spending their mornings in the shop with hot chocolates and coffees.  “We usually have a burrito or a sandwich and sit around and talk.  It’s a fun tradition to get the morning going,” Medina said.  Kent and Colleen have also taken to opening on some mornings to keep in touch with the community they served for many years.  Familiar faces Demar Clegg and Jenny Peden are also still on staff at Bailey’s.  The new owners will take turns throughout the week.  “You’ll see Lindsey and I here most often.”  

One thing Daphney Medina was happy with was the ability of the store to add items to their supplies upon request.  “Tru Moo was something we just added,” she explained.  “And Vanilla Kit Kats.  If someone tells us that there is something they wish we had, we’ll try to bring it in for them and keep it on the shelves.  It’s been fun to see—they come in and they’re so excited to see the new product on the shelf that they asked for.  As long as it sells, we’ll keep it in stock.  We like to say we’ve got almost anything you might need—and if we don’t, we’ll find it!”  The paper can confirm that Baileys does have Oreo Cokes in stock.  

In addition to the grocery items, quick cook microwave food, dry goods, and snacks, the store also keeps a supply of automotive needs, which is being added to.  “We have people who come in—farmers especially—for oil, or power steering fluid, diesel 911, stuff like that,” Medina said. The store is also a strong believer in stocking local products as much as possible.  Plans are in the works to coordinate with Grace High School’s business endeavors to provide merchandise such as hats and shirts with local logos.  Stanger’s honey is already a proud local item, with the bees located locally and feeding off Grace’s flowering plants.  “We love local businesses, and we love having them advertise with us,” Medina said.  

One of the traditions of Bailey’s Market is the counter tops, which are covered with local business cards.  “To be fair, we should probably look into some of these to see if they are still around,” she laughed, looking through the dozens of cards under the plexiglass top.  Lindsey Fox agreed.  “Some of them have been here for a while, it looks like,” she said.  “My husband said we should start calling the numbers to see if anyone answers.”

“It’s been fun.  I like that Kent and Colleen are still coming in.  I love that they’re still involved, and I think it’s really helped the transition,” Lindsey said.

“We definitely appreciate everything they’ve done to help with this.  We love that they still come in.  They’re here as they want to be here,” Medina said.

“We have a lot of people who come in and ask for them—they’ll say ‘we miss seeing them every day’,” Fox said.

“So I’ll tell them when to come in and catch the Baileys,” Medina added with a smile.   

Bailey’s has a Facebook page, which they plan to expand and update with current gas prices, store specials, and seasonal products.  Right now, Almond Roca and local mailer boxes are featured for the season.  They are also currently looking for employees.  As the posting would have it: “If you are looking for a job or just want to get out of the house send us a message. Contact Lindsey Fox (208) 251-4278 or Daphney Medina (208) 283-5701 Must be 19. Flexible days, commit to as little as one or two days a week or work full time.” 

Bailey’s is potentially even more well-situated within the community, as Daphney Medina will be taking over the reins at the Grace City Chamber of Commerce in 2025.  The Chamber was considering what it wanted to do moving forward as Gloria Peck readies to finish her tenure as head of the group, and Daphney stepped up to serve in the position.  “I think there is a lot we can do.  Lara [Peck] and Scott [Buxton] have some great ideas about how to do what we need to do, but we would love other people to come forward and help support us in getting things going.”

One thing she was clear to note is that the Grace Chamber of Commerce is not restricted to businesses from Grace alone.  In fact, many of the businesses from Grace operate throughout the county and the larger region, and vice versa.  “You don’t need to be from Grace to join.  We’d like to have members from all over—Soda, Bancroft, Lava Hot Springs.  Even Pocatello.  It doesn’t matter if your business is in Preston, or Lava, or Soda—as long as you serve customers here you can have great success in this area.  In fact, I’d encourage it.”

Beyond adding to the roster of businesses that belong to the chamber, Medina and the incoming group (which includes Vice President Lara Peck), would also like to expand some of the services provided to members by the chamber.  “We plan to take it from where it has been, and update it, and take it in a direction where we add some things that are needed.”  Those things will include training sessions on various elements of business, resources for businesses to connect with each other, networking possibilities, website content, advertising, and community events, as well as other moves toward increasing the Grace City brand as a chamber.  “We want to keep as much local business local as we can.”

The Chamber recently sponsored the visit of Santa Claus to the Grace Fire Station, and has worked to support many events of community interest throughout the year, including the Concert in the Park during the summer.

Anyone interested in joining the chamber can contact Daphney Medina at the number provided above, through the Chamber’s Facebook page, or by stopping into Bailey’s Market sometime during the week.  There is also a link to the Chamber on the City’s website.  The meetings will be held the third week in January (right now Wednesdays) at noon at the city offices.  The times might be adjusted as the year gets underway, however.  “I’d really like to get more businesses involved.  There are so many businesses that people around here do, where they don’t get them name out there.  I think the chamber is a great way to do it.”  Yearly dues will remain at $50 for 2025, and the chamber hopes to have a busy and productive year as it moves forward with expanding its footprint in the area.  Membership provides free booth space at local events, banners and signs, and attendance to any of the planned seminars/classes hosted by the chamber. 

Baileys plans to be open the same hours it has been in the past going forward, which are 7 a.m.-7p.m. during the week and 8 a.m.-6 p.m. on the weekends, though those hours are likely to expand as time goes on.  “Especially in the summer—we’ll be here early.”  Asked if there was anything else Lindsey or Daphney wanted to add about Baileys, the two noted that “we have the cheapest soda around.  At least that’s what we’ve been told!”  Two Oreo Cokes for under $4 verified the claim.