In 1936, with $150, Richard and Emma Souder opened a grocery store on what was then known as Highway 15, now present day Highway 10 better known as West Hurst Boulevard. The Souder's store grew to include a service station by 1939 and then added the adjoining cafe in 1944. The store was open seven days a week and maintained canned goods, meats, vegetables, and a few hardware items. One corner of the grocery store also housed the first post office, which opened on February 1, 1949. While Emma managed the business, Richard worked as a carpenter on projects such as the Hurst School across the street. Emma's Cafe featured large ten-cent hamburgers with all the trimmings and was a favorite coffee and lunch stop for Dallas-Forth Worth truckers. Emma Souder quit the cafe business in 1949, closed her grocery store after seventeen years in 1953, and went to work for the City of Hurst. Longtime Mayor of Hurst, Bill Souder, is the son Richard and Emma Souder.