Cedar Creek Lake residents when asked what business they would most like to see open up in the area often say an HEB, Kroger's or Albertson's grocery store.

That seemed on the verge of happening when Brookshire Grocery Co. with three stores on the lake recently began exploring a sale of the 87-year-old company based in Tyler that was estimated to be worth $1 billion in a possible sale. But Brookshire issued a press release Nov. 23 shooting down the idea.

"Brookshire Holdings, Inc., parent company of Brookshire Grocery Company, today announced that the process in which it has been engaged to explore a possible sale of the company has been terminated. The company will continue to provide a great food and shopping experience for its customers and will have no further comments on the matter."

The statement followed reports by the national news service Reuters, then other media outlets in Texas, that the sale of the family-owned business could be on the horizon.

Brookshire operates 150 stores with an estimated annual sales of $2 billion in mostly smaller East Texas towns. It has 28 stores in North Texas.

There is a Brookshire store in Mabank, Seven Points and Malakoff.