he Enterprise Grocery under the skillful management of its present proprietors, Messrs. Gantt & Gaylord, is rapidly becoming one of the leading business houses of Redlands. A. T. Gantt, the member of the firm who has been longest identified with the business, is a native of North Carolina, and lived in that state until he came to California and to Redlands, arriving in December, 1891. Very soon after his arrival here Mr. Gantt became connected with the Enterprise Grocery, which was then owned by its founder, L. E. Shepard, and was located on the corner of Fifth and State streets. Mr. Gantt has been continuously with this business ever since. In 1894 it was moved to its present location in the Otis block, on the corner of Cajon street and Citrus avenue. Afterward it passed into the hands of the Enterprise Grocery Company, a corporation of which Mr. Gantt was a member. The business was purchased by its present owners just about a year ago, namely, on the 15th of December, 1896.

G. H. Gaylord, the other member of the firm, was born in Illinois in 1871. He lived in that state until he came to California in 1886 with his father, Cass Gaylord, and the other members of the family. He had been attending grammar schools in Illinois, and after his arrival in Redlands completed his education at the Bellevue Academy. Afterward he was occupied with orange growing until he entered upon his present business in partnership with Mr. Gantt.

Since these young men undertook the business of the Enterprise Grocery it has steadily increased. They have a solicitor and two delivery wagons on the road every day, besides the force that is kept busy at the store. They cater to a class of patronage that requires the best of everything, and carry only the finest goods procurable. Their location is an excellent one for a business of this sort; their store is unusually light and airy, and proprietors pride themselves upon neatness and cleanliness in every detail. The large amount of shelving and floor space at their disposal gives them excellent facilities which they utilize to the utmost. Their patrons are always sure of promptness and courtesy in their business dealings. That these qualities are appreciated is shown by the gratifying increase in the business under its present management.

As in other cities, there is competition in Redlands in different lines of business. Nevertheless those houses which have been up to the times in their methods and carefully managed have uniformly succeeded here, showing that a good thing is almost always appreciated in a live community. The Enterprise Grocery is to be numbered among those establishments which have a prosperous present and a favorable outlook for the future.

(Source: Illustrated Redlands, 1897, p. 82)