About Henry's Market

Henry C. Swanson, Founder

Henry Swanson founded "Henry's" in 1941 with partner Leo Marquis following the Second World War. From its humble neighborhood store beginnings, Henrys Market developed into a specialty grocery store well known for their quality meats and friendly customer service. The partners built up the business together until the 1980's when Mr. Marquis retired, leaving Henry as the sole owner. Henry carried on until John Keohane, a young man from Danvers, joined him as kitchen manager in 1984. At that time, home-cooked meals for those customers with busy lifestyles were becoming popular. Henry, always with an eye towards the future, recognized this need and started with one woman making chicken pies in a corner of the basement. John expanded on this vision to create over 200 selections of home-cooked prepared foods, keeping 3 kitchens and 30 people working daily to provide for our customers needs. While Henry's production is on a large scale we have sought to maintain the same high standards you would in your own kitchen at home-using no preservatives, extenders and minimal salt content.

In 2005, at the age of 90 Henry made the difficult decision to sell his lifelong passion, Henry's Market. So proud of all his accomplishments, long time employees and loyal customers who supported him for 65 years—his first choice was his trusted employee and friend, John Keohane, that man from Danvers. Sharing the same convictions and high standard for excellence as Henry, John was the natural choice. Previous to purchasing the business, John served as daily operations manager, president and treasurer for Henrys Market since 2000.

John and Janet Keohane, Principles since 2005

Working in the service industry all of their lives John and Janet Keohane, who met while students at Danvers High School, have carried on Henry Swanson's legacy of giving back to the community. Through Henry's Market the Keohane's have contributed to the Salem and Beverly Hospitals, Danvers YMCA and YMCA of the North Shore, Haven from Hunger, Hospice of the North Shore, People to People Food Pantry, North Shore Elder Affairs, Wenham Museum, Danvers Art Association, Montserrat College of Art, The Kiwanis and Rotary Associations, Life-Bridge Salem, Compassion Foster Children El Salvador, River House in Beverly, and other local community events. In addition to building relationships and employing over 200 people on the North Shore with their specialty grocery store and full service catering division—John and Janet also own and operate the DOG SPA, a beautiful pet boutique, grooming and training center in North Beverly.

The Keohane's still reside in Danvers along with their two dogs Trixy and Phoenix. Their two grown sons, Jason and Chris, also contribute to the success of the family businesses.

Henry's Market now employs over 200 people. The store is a full service market with the freshest produce, hand picked from the Chelsea Market, fresh cut flowers from the Boston flower exchange, and a unique display reminiscent of a European market. Recently, we've added on a beautiful old-world wine, beer and fine cigar store adjacent to Henry's Market---uniquely called "Henry's Wine Cellar".

Don't forget the convenience Henry's has to offer. By packaging 85% of our home-cooked foods in various sizes we can accommodate our customers and their needs. We offer smaller portions for customers looking for individual portions, as well as family sized portions for convenience and simplicity. The key is to keep things simple with excellent quality, variety, size of packaging and presentation.

Henry's also offers quality grocery and gourmet items, full service catering, delivery service and custom orders from our specialized departments.