Perry Coal and Feed Co. has been operating in Perry Village almost since the official beginning of the community. Related Articles Madison Village will reconstruct section of Samuel Street Wildwood Cultural Center in Mentor hosts book fair for local author s Lake County engineer designated LPA for Tyler Road Bridge Project in Mentor Reverse Job Fair coming to Auburn Career Center Indoor basketball court among Mentor Rec Center enhancements In fact, the business was established in 1916, just three years after the incorporation of Perry Village in 1913. Located at 4204 Main St., Perry Coal and Feed Co. has a long tradition of supplying customers with high-quality products such as feed for livestock, pet food, seeds for lawn and gardens, and fertilizers and pesticides. Customers with questions about items in the store can get answers from a very knowledgeable source. Owner Rick Warren essentially grew up in the business and started his first official job as a truck driver there in 1968, at age 16. “My point is: After 50-some years of being here, you had to learn something,” Warren said. “I think that’s a big part of our business — the knowledge that we can provide.” Perry Coal and Feed Co. was founded in 1916 by J.M. Brown as a retail feed store. But a group of investors later bought the business and put in grinding equipment to produce feed on site. “Everyone in that time had a small family farm, so supplying feed and other provisions was important,” Warren said. Warren’s father, Arthur, was hired as truck driver for the company in 1950 and rose to the position of manager two years later. Over the years, whenever one of the Perry Coal and Feed Co. stockholders wanted to sell their stock in the company, Arthur Warren bought it. “He had 49 percent of the stock for quite a long time,” Warren said. “I would say it was in the early 1970s that he purchased the last of the stock (and became owner).” Warren said his father retired in 1990 but retained the designation of owner until his death in 2002. He then officially took over as owner of Perry Coal and Feed Co. Today, the business employs a staff of three people, including Warren and General Manager Michael Rought. They’re joined by Warren’s 6-year-old Labrador retriever named Five, who serves as kind of a goodwill ambassador. Five regularly greets customers and “tests the dog treats daily for freshness,” Rought said. Employees at Perry Coal and Feed Co. still use this mill, which is more than 100 years old, to grind feed for livestock at the Perry Village-based business. Located at 4204 Main St., Perry Coal and Feed Co. has a long tradition of supplying customers with high-quality products such as feed for livestock, pet food, seeds for lawn and gardens, and fertilizers and pesticides. The business was founded in 1916. (Bill DeBus – The News-Herald) Pet food and livestock feed are probably the best year-round sellers at Perry Coal and Feed Co., Warren said. He and his staff still grind livestock feed using the mill that was installed more than 100 years ago. During the springtime, customers purchase plenty of seeds and fertilizers. This past winter, Perry Coal and Feed Co. sold a lot of rock salt, because of the frequent freeze, thaw and freeze cycles during the season. “I went through, I think, seven semi loads of rock salt this winter,” he said. “In the previous winter (2023-24), I went through one.” The business also carries about a half-dozen items that Warren considers as “dedicated inventory” for a handful of customers who always buy those products. “So that’s what we bring in for them,” he said. The many horticultural nurseries in Perry and Madison townships always have been good customers, Waren said. When it comes its overall customer base, the business draws most of its patrons from the eastern Lake County communities of Perry, Madison and Painesville, and the townships of Concord and Leroy, he said. Perry Coal and Feed Co. always has strived to provide personalized customer service, he said. For example, the business offers delivery of its products, and its staff always will carry a customers’ purchases to their vehicle, if requested. Looking toward the future of Perry Coal and Feed Co., Warren said there are no members of the family to take over the business once he retires. However, he said it’s possible that Rought could succeed him as owner. “I think you’ll see him in my chair someday,” he said. Rought started working Perry Coal and Feed 10 years ago at the age of 16. “This is the only real job I’ve ever had,” he said. Warren and Rought also are both fifth-generation farmers and live in Perry Township. As Warren looks back over the past 56 years he has devoted to working at Perry Coal and Feed Co., he said the most rewarding part of this experience has been the people he’s met and gotten to know. “I want you to come in as a customer and leave as a friend,” he said. ...read more read less