Sticking it...

I was down at Trolley Square today, brought back the memory of one of the best known old cafe's in Salt Lake. Starting in the 1940's Bill and Nada McHenry opened up a cafe, strangely named Bill and Nada's (pronounced Bill and Nay-da.) Bill and Nada's was opened 24 hours 7 days a week. The restaurant was a nice neighborhood, personal, hometown feel kinda place.
Sometime in the mid '90s Fred Meyer came along and wanted to build a big store that took up most of the block between 400 South and 500 South from 500 East to 600 East. Bill McHenry lived in that block, in fact lived within the area Fred Meyer wanted to build. Bill refused to sell, after all his house was right across the street from his 24 hour restaurant, he didn't want to have to move far from that position. Bill fought Fred Meyers, and although I don't know how, I hear they came to a compromise. Bill kept his house and Fred Meyers built a wall around the house. In return it was agreed that when Bill passed away (Nada had passed away in the 60s) Fred Meyer would be able to purchase the land from the estate. A few years later Bill passed away. He wanted Bill and Nada's to close down after his death, so it did. Additionally the site of his house was sold for commercial use, I believe by what is now Smith's Marketplace. Bill McHenry had taken on the corporate giants and returned with a victory. He lived to see the corporate giant live to their word (it was a nice ten foot brick wall that surrounded Bill's house). Then passed on leaving the giant to now tear down such a beautiful brick wall. Since then, as can be seen by the aerial map, they tore down both his house and Bill and Nada's. I think it was not only great to see a small cafe owner take on the corporate giant, but also see the corporate giant willing to compromise rather than look for other means of forcing Bill to sell.