Moab local Deb Hren’s father helped her with the down payment when she bought a convenience store, just over five years ago, and named it T&H Corner Stop.
“So ‘T’ for ‘Taylor,’ his last name, and ‘H’” for Hren, she said.
T&H Corner Stop has items people expect in a convenience store: groceries like bread and milk, coffee, soft drinks and other beverages, snack foods, toiletries and over-the-counter medicines. Tobacco products are kept behind the counter.
Hren said that she makes a special effort to get products that her customers request, including bulk orders. She added that the store recently started carrying the ice cream product Dippin’ Dots which has proven very popular.
“Some of our nearby locals don’t drive, so we are their grocery store,” she said.
Hren said she is working to get hot food back in the market again, but needs a staff member to take that on, and would like to eventually expand the building to include a deli. She said she is also looking at offering showers and a laundromat.
“I want to be the corner ‘Mom and Pop’-type shop that evolves as the local community’s needs guide us,” she said.
When difficult circumstances hit the community, Hren said T&H has stepped up to help.
Several years ago, a construction spill created worry that the neighborhood’s water supply had been contaminated; T&H donated bottled water for residents until tests showed the water was safe.
Recently, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hren said she and her employees “worked like crazy” to keep milk, bread and paper products stocked.
Hren said she feels “very blessed” that the store has been able to stay in operation as an essential business during the pandemic.
“We do our part with masks and disinfecting…. to assist in slowing or preventing the spread” of coronavirus, she said.
Hren said she has a bachelor’s degree in education but, after a few years of teaching, she became a mother and switched to staying home with her children.
“As my family grew, I did an array of jobs,” she said, such as baking, founding and running a daycare, coaching and umpiring, and working as a crossing guard, before opening T&H Corner Stop in 2015.
Hren has five children, and her eldest daughter and her husband just had their first child.
“I like to go be grandma as much as possible,” Hren said, adding that she also has volunteer work and a home addition project keeping her busy.
T&H Corner Market is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; Friday and Saturday hours are 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
T&H Corner Stop focuses on locals
“I want to be the corner ‘Mom and Pop’-type shop that evolves as the local community’s needs guide us.”
– Deb Hren
When: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Where: 640 N. 500 West, Moab
