Posts Tagged ‘grocery stores’

Rural Grocery Store Conference Announced

April 22nd, 2010

Kansas State University’s Center for Engagement and Community Development has been a leader in promoting the importance of grocery stores in small rural communities.  For the past several years, they’ve been conducting research on the subject and have developed a valuable website to share what they’ve learned. 

On June 14-15, 2010, they will share what they’ve learned at a conference titled the “Rural Grocery Summit II: Saving Rural America’s Critical Infrastructure.”

Specifically, the Center has identified three goals for the conference:

In the past, we’ve sought to inspire rural residents with stories of communities who have taken initiative to open community owned grocery stores.  (see here, here, and here). 

If you’ve recognized that your community needs help in opening a grocery store (or preventing one from closing), I’d highly encourage you to check out the conference.  You can learn more about it on the conference website.

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Gen Y Entrepreneurship: Nick Graham Style

April 7th, 2010

Nick Graham has struck again.  Now, 21 years-old, Nick recently purchased the Nodaway Valley Market in Fontanelle, IA; his third grocery store in small town Iowa.

I wrote briefly about Nick in January 2009, almost three years after he had purchased his first grocery store in Truman, MN at age seventeen.  He went on to buy two additional stores before selling them off because another grocer made him a “good offer.” 

According to Kyle Munson in the Des Moines Register, Nick has jumped back into the grocery business with the purchase of three stores in the Iowa communities of Fontanelle, Pomeroy and Rolfe.  His efforts prompted one of his employees to say:

“Holy cow,” Debbie Frank says Wednesday from behind the cash register. Just hearing Nick’s resume “makes me think I’ve done nothing with my life!” (Source: Kyle Munson, Des Moines Register, “Munson: Iowa grocery tycoon, 21, builds small-town business,” April 2, 2010),

In my original article, I suggest Nick was “just another typical Millennial” because many Gen Yers share his entrepreneurial spirit.  Obviously, Nick’s entrepreneurial spirit is on steroids.  But the point I wanted to make was that rural communities everywhere should be thinking about how they can tap into young people by supporting their entrepreneurial spirit. 

Although I’ve never met Nick, the Des Moines Register article helps me see some additional characteristics that Nick possesses.  I think they are worth lifting up for consideration. 

 

5 characteristics of Nick Graham’s entrepreneurial spirit

1. Live conservatively: A lot of young people spend money freely. Some rush into buying a fancy car, whiles others jump into homeownership; both leading them down a pathway to a lifetime of debt. Nick’s a homeowner himself. But rather than spend $150,000 - $250,000 on a starter home in a larger community, Nick purchased a four-bedroom house in Rolfe for $4,000.

2. Work hard: If you are ambitious, you’re going to end up working long hours to gain the success you want. The difference with Nick is that he’s putting in these hours for himself, rather than a boss or shareholders. In other words, he keeps the fruits of his hard work.

3. Find your muse & get started early: Nick’s first venture into business wasn’t the Truman grocery store. From the Des Moines Register article, we learn that The Adventures of Tom Sawyer inspired Nick to set up a lawn mowing business. My guess is that some of that money came in handy when buying his first grocery store.

4. Skip college: Ok, I don’t actually believe this is a good move for most young people, but it has worked for Nick. I suspect it’s because he’s found ways to teach himself the skills he needs for his business.

5. Don’t give up: Having never met Nick, I’m not sure what disappointments and failures he’s had to overcome, but one quote from the Des Moines Register article suggests he’s not a quitter: “Good things fall apart for better things to fall together.”

I’m inspired by Nick, and I hope you are too.  But more importantly, this is the type of story that I hope inspires young people.

Too often, the only stories young people in rural communities hear are about people who move away to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams.  There’s nothing wrong with celebrating their success.  But it’s a travesty when we ignore those doing it in small, rural communities. 

 

Photo Credit:  Aplysa_06 - Flickr

 

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More on the Clark Variety Store

May 24th, 2009

The Clark Hometown Variety Store received more good publicity today in a story published in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.  Titled “Buying a store sells Clark on small-town power“, the article describes how the residents of Clark, SD (pop. 1300) banded together to create a cooperatively-owned variety store.  

If faithful readers of ReImagine Rural think the story sounds familiar, it should.  Back in February 2009, I posted about the store, emphasizing the importance of small retail operations like this in small, rural communities.    They are often just as much a part of a community’s “infrastructure” as streets, cell phone service, and broadband internet.

The Argus Leader identifies that cooperative-owned stores like this are on the rise, but they missed an opportunity to provide another “local” example of the phenomena it in action.  After all, the community of Menno, SD took similar initiative to maintain the presence of a grocery store in their community.

The story also raises the question:  What is happening to Clark’s city sales tax revenues?  Most people are not aware of how important city sales tax is to the operations of a municipality in South Dakota.  My guess is that Clark has seen a rise in its revenues since the store opened.  It would be fun to see. 

 

Other stories about the Clark Hometown Variety Store

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Kansas “gets” importance of grocery stories

April 14th, 2009

The Kansas Sampler Foundation not only “gets” rural culture, but they also get the importance or rural grocery stores. 

In response to a call from a resident from a rural town (pop. 1100) that lacks a grocery store, Marci Penner called for the establishment of a two-day Midwest Small Grocery symposium.  The idea being we need to “reimagine” how rural grocery stores operate.  Couldn’t agree more!

We’ve talked about a few retail models (here, here, and here) that have emerged in the upper Midwest.  We’d love to hear other stories from around the country.

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Gathering at the Grocery Store

March 18th, 2009

In my post today, I’d like to connect a few dots.  In the past few months, I’ve written about two communities (Clark, SD and Menno, SD) who stepped up to the plate and purchased retail operations when private buyers for the ventures could not be identified.  I’ve also written about the importance of “third places” in strengthening community bonds, and how they can positively impact the community’s economic development. )

It wasn’t until reflecting on a recent e-mail from Dr. Dave Engen, the founder of the “Third Place Project,” that I realized what a great opportunity both communities have to create third places out of their community-owned retail stores. 

We seldom think of grocery and variety stores as being places where “people meeting informally and build strong social connections,” but Dr. Engen’s work provides examples of both grocery and hardware stores that do so. 

I’m not sure if either community has considered their stores as community gather places, but I’d encourage them to do so.  And if they - or any community following their lead - want evidence of how it can be accomplished, I’d encourage them to check out the audio casts at the “Third Place Project“.

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Grocery store finds new life

March 13th, 2009

We’ve heard the story time and time again:  Grocery store owner in a rural town reaches retirement age, wants to sell, but struggles to find an interested buyer.  With no buyer in sight, the store closes. Substitute “hardware store” or “grocery store,” and most small towns in the Upper Midwest have experienced this scenario first hand.

Last month, we learned that the community of Clark, SD banded together to reopen their “variety store.”  Today, we report that the community of Menno, SD (pop. 729) stepped up to save their grocery store. 

The Yankton Press and Dakotan provides details for the story. () When it appeared the store’s owners who were ready to retire couldn’t find a buyer, the Menno Area Development Corporation took action by:

The story is uplifting and motivating.  It proves that communities don’t have to accept decline as inevitable.

What’s really exciting about the story
Digging deeper into the story, however, I found other reasons to be excited. 

First, the store’s manager, Amber Taylor was 27 years old when she took over.  She had been living in the Rapid City, proving that not everyone from Gen Y is interested in living in an urban area. 

Second, like the Nick Graham story, the community values the store and is willing to volunteer their time to work at the store.

Third, the community appears to be supporting Taylor with mentors.  A story in the March 4, 2008 edition of the Town and County Weekly News, suggests Taylor is being mentored by the former store owners and another retired former grocer who retired to Menno.  A review of the Menno Area Development Corporation minutes also informs us that the Southeast Enterprise Facilitation Project has played an important advisory role.  

The idea that communities need to provide mentoring support to entrepreneurial endeavors is often neglected.  It may, however, be one of the more important roles around. 

At the end of the day, the Menno community should feel proud of their efforts.   They have provided us with another example of a “Reimagined” future for rural places.

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Rural Infrastructure — The Clark Story

February 13th, 2009

The stimulus package currently in Congress focuses on job creation and infrastructure development.  While the urban infrastructure most discussed revolves around roads, schools, and mass transit, the rural infrastructure appears focused on broadband internet.

After reading about the establishment of a “community owned” variety store in Clark, South Dakota, I was reminded that rural infrastructure comes in many forms.  I was also reminded that decisions about prioritizing any community’s infrastructure needs is best decided by an informed citizenry at the local level. 

 

The Clark Hometown Variety Store

According to an article in the Watertown Public Opinion, the community of Clark has been without a place to buy many household necessities since the community’s convenience store closed three years ago. 

After struggling to reestablish the store through more traditional means, 115-120 community residents “stepped up” and purchased stock ($500 a share) in the newly formed community-owned variety store.

Since opening its doors on Christmas Eve, the store has been an economic boon for the community.  Greg Furness, President of the Clark Chamber of Commerce, is quoted in the Public Opinion article saying people from Watertown and Huron have been making the trip to purchase fabric.  The store also employs one full-time and four part-time workers. 

More importantly, the store fills a need within the community. Communities that offer places to purchase necessities are much more attractive places to live.   In many ways, they are a necessary part of the community’s infrastructure, just like good roads, schools, etc…. (source:  Joe O’Sullivan, “Clark community store revived”. Watertown Public Opinion, Feb. 9, 2009). 

  

Other forms of rural infrastructure

I’m not the only one who considers stores like this a vital element of a rural community’s infrastructure.  The Center for Rural Affairs also categories grocery stores and public libraries as infrastructure. I’d probably place “third places” in the infrastructure category as well. 

This brings us to the broadband internet debate.  I believe that broadband internet is vital to the economic development of all rural communities.  In fact, I’d go a step further and say that we have to develop greater access to wireless internet as well.   Young people will demand access to both, and will move away from communities where they can’t get it.

The stimulus package is a pretty complex bill, and I admittedly haven’t paid all that much attention to it. 

I just hope that the federal government’s approach to stimulating the rural economy isn’t limited to increasing broadband service.   If it is, there will be a lot of rural communities left out of the stimulus plan altogether.

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Just another typical Millennial

January 20th, 2009

Should we be surprised when a seventeen year-old high school student buys a grocery store in his rural community?  We assume all young people just want to get out of town, go to college, and then get a good paying job in the city?  But is that really the case?

After watching this CBS News story about Nick Graham, a young entrepreneur from Truman, MN (pop. 1,259 ), I had to stop and rethink that assumption.  Hopefully after watching it, you will too.

 

 

Before going further, I want to credit the Blog for Rural America for bringing the story to my attention. The video is a year old, and I missed their original post a year ago January.  Luckily their latest update caught my attention.

What’s happened in the last year

The Blog for Rural America’s post is worth checking out, but here are a few brief highlights about what’s happened with Nick during the last year.  First, Nick purchased two more grocery stores in rural communities.  Sounds like things were going well, but he recently sold all three to another grocer who gave him a good offer.  Nick has since moved on to a sales career and is currently helping out a struggling daycare center.  

While some people probably think Nick is the exception among  young people today, I don’t.  If we step back and examine the Characteristics of Gen Y, we see that Nick fits the mold of his generation:  

So if Nick is not the exception, why aren’t more Millennials jumping into business in our rural communities?  And if they have a natural inclination to be entrepreneurs, is there something rural communities can do to encourage them to start businesses in rural communities? 

This needs more study

Admittedly, I don’t have the answers to these questions, but I’ve already started digging into some research.  I’ll share whatever I find, and I hope you’ll help me out by sharing what you think.  Because I can’t stop thinking about it, however, I’m going to throw out some ideas that I have on the subject.  

My List of Recommendations

I arrived at these ideas without any “deep thinking”, so feel free to criticize or clarify them.  Like the topic of “third places,” I believe we need to build a deeper conversation on this subject.  I hope you’ll add to this by identifying other ways rural communities can encourage the development of entrepreneurs like Nick.  After all, the futures of our rural communities may depend on it.

 

Other resources on Nick Graham

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Can you buy Christmas groceries in your community?

December 24th, 2008

In addition to Santa and gift-giving, Christmas means eating (usually lots of eating) to millions of Americans.  Unfortunately, preparing the Christmas treats and meals requires far too many rural residents to drive 15-20 miles to purchase their groceries.  Simply put, declining populations and changing retail practices have forced many local grocery stores to close over the last few decades. 

With that in mind, I’d like to share a resource intended to help concerned residents bring grocery stores back to their communities. 

Titled “Grocery Store Attraction Strategies:  A Resource Guide for Community Activists and Local Governments“, it offers a 10-step process which I have highlighted below:

  1. Identify and organize stakeholders.
  2. Raise awareness of the problem.
  3. Understand the challenges.
  4. Consider the alternatives.
  5. Understand the retail market.
  6. Address the perception of the area.
  7. Identify potential development sites.
  8. Research and offer incentives.
  9. Sell the opportunity.
  10. Secure community support and corporate accountability.

This resource, develop by PolicyLink and the Bay Area LISC, is largely written for an urban audience.  While it offers a great starting point for any community look to develop a grocery store attraction strategy, I will continue to look for and share additional resources more applicable for a rural setting. 

And if you know any yourself, I’d encourage you to share them in the comment section.

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