'HANK' JACKSON'S MARKET BECAME A HUB FOR SOUTH L.A.

THE FOUNDER OF HANK’S MINI MARKET HAS DIED AT 85

- DANIELLE DORSEY

From the family of Hank Jackson

HENRY “Hank” Jackson, proprietor and patriarch of family-owned Hank’s Mini Market, a community hub in Hyde Park, has died at 85.

Jackson died last month at his home in View Park-Windsor Hills, according to his family.

Born in Shreveport, La., and raised in Dallas, Jackson moved to Los Angeles in 1960 and worked in quality control at Lockheed-Martin for 37 years. But the itch to own his own business was always present. After clocking out of his full-time job, Jackson worked nights at local liquor stores, eventually working his way up to become a manager at Slauson Liquor.

Jackson purchased Hank's Mini Market in Hyde Park in 1997, when he was 57 years old and when the South L.A. neighborhood was still recovering from the L.A. riots and hardly seen as a destination for reinvestment. But Jackson, who lived with his family nearby, saw potential.

"Most people would be winding down or thinking about retirement, and he’s going off on this really risky venture," said his daughter Amy Jackson. "I think for him it just really mattered about having something of your own that you could really bring all of yourself to. He always used to say, 'Why rent something when you can buy it?'"

His daughter Kelli Jackson added, "He has this history of showing up and serving the community for decades beyond and before Hank's Mini Market."