Roach Feed & Seed, one of Garland’s most beloved businesses, will celebrate its 90th birthday Saturday, July 24 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. The store is located at 409 Main Street in downtown Garland.
The party promises to be filled with fun for all ages! Some of the activities include:
- Raffle for Pit Boss Wood Pellet Grill and Pierce Cooler – proceeds to benefit Hope Clinic and Good Samaritans
- Dog races
- Horses for photo ops
- Garland Parks & Recreation Play Street
- Drawings for great prizes every half hour
- Big Rome’s Bar-B-Que
- Garland Animal Services
- Pet adoptions
The Garland Landmark Museum will also be there with a photo retrospective of the store’s history.
Roach Feed & Seed is often referred to as a “Garland institution” and “a Garland treasure.” When asked, many people name it as their favorite store in Garland.
It’s a unique combination of the past and the present. They provide all the newest, as well as older trusted brands, of merchandise their customers need. But the wood floors and simplicity of the interior provide a look into the past. In addition, the quality of the customer service they provide is reminiscent of the way it used to be.
In its 90 years, the store has had three owners. The first was Haskell Roach who opened the store in 1933. Jack McDaniel, who would later become the second owner, went to work at the store in 1949.
The current owner, Shanna Carter, started working there when she was 16 years old. She started as a part-time employee working after school and on weekends. She became a full-time employee after college. In 2018, she bought the store from McDaniel.
When Carter became the owner, she said that her goal was to “keep up with the way the world is changing, but not change our roots, not change where we came from and not change how we take care of customers.”
In 2013, the Garland Landmark Society had a historic marker installed at Roach Feed and Seed. The marker inscription is below.
In 1920, Garland businessman W. H. Roach and his son Haskell, who had recently graduated from Baylor University, acquired the retail grocery operation of M. D. Williams’ mercantile store and began business on the south side of the town’s square as Roach Grocery Co.
Later, they sold the retail grocery business and opened a feed, seed and wholesale grocery company supplying small grocery stores in the area. A few years later, leasing land on the Santa Fe Railroad right-of-way, the Roaches erected a tin-covered building to house their Roach Feed & Grocer Co. The new store opened on June 16, 1933. It eventually became known as “A Texas Legend.”
After his father’s death during World War II, Haskell “Hack” Roach eliminated the grocery inventory, and the business became Roach Feed & Seed Co. During this period, he also joined Earl McDaniel Sr. in purchasing a local grain operation and formed Roach & McDaniel Grain Co. One of its early customers was a young business, the Frito Company of Dallas, which grew to become an iconic American food corporation known worldwide.
McDaniel’s son Earl “Jack” McDaniel Jr. joined Roach Feed & Seed as a store employee in 1949. The two companies continued to operate separately until 1952, when Jack McDaniel purchased his father’s interest in the grain company and became Roach’s partner in that enterprise. After the grain operation was sold in the late 1950s, the younger McDaniel continued as Roach’s partner in the feed store.
Garland’s rapid growth in the decades after World War II brought demand for lawn, gardening and pet supplies, so the company evolved further. “Hack” Roach continued working at the store until the age of 91. He died Dec. 5, 1991, at the age of 93.
Marker Number 20087