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Bow Food Pride set to close |
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Thursday, 15 July 2010 |
 By DEBORAH McCASLIN
Chief Publisher
Bow Food Pride in Broken Bow is closing. The signs are out - the owners have made the decision once the stock is gone to shut their doors.
They are looking for a buyer, but hope in the eyes of the employees has disappeared. The employees are what the owners are worried about most.
“There are about 30 people who worked hard to try and make this work,” said Mike Whitesel. “Randy and Tanya have worked their hearts out on this store.”
Mike and his wife Dianna, Jeff and Stacey McMeen and Randy and Tanya Kennedy purchased the former Jack and Jill last summer and then spent the next nine months pouring money into the business.
“We didn’t do this to get rich. We didn’t even care if we made any money. We just wanted to make enough to operate the store, pay the employees and pay the note. That just didn’t happen,” he said.
The idea, the dream was a long time coming. It started with a motorcycle accident in 2004. That’s when Mike crushed a wrist and ended up at McMeen Physical Therapy getting the wrist worked on.
Jeff and Mike over the course of the next year and a half starting talking shop. Both are motorcycle enthusiasts and the two families became friends.
In 2009 when the owner was edging toward retirement and had the store for sale, Jeff approached Mike to see if they were interested. Both believed Broken Bow not only could house, but could use two grocery stores.
“Our goal wasn’t to capture customers shopping at Grocery Kart. There was no reason for them to try our store. Dave (Green) does a great job and treats his customers well. Our goal was to try and entice those shoppers driving out of town to try our store. We thought once we had it cleaned up and looking good, and had good merchandise on the shelves, and offered good service people would come. They didn’t,” he said.
Out of the nine months they owned the store, there were only a handful of weeks the store made money.
“It doesn’t make sense. There are those who will drive to Kearney to buy grapes for 2 cents a pound less! I just don’t get it!” he said, with a tone that mixed exasperation with genuine sadness.
“We knew the store needed some work. We knew the display cases needing replacing, we just didn’t plan on having to do so much of it so soon. We spent $3,000 just getting the floors clean,” Mike said.
“We had a terrible time getting a reasonable agreement with the supplier. We painted both inside and out. We put in new refrigeration units. We put in new lights,” he said.
They had hopes, they had dreams. They wanted to put in an eating area in the front of the store where folks could purchase from the deli and then be able to eat lunch at the store.
When they made beer and wine available they didn’t want to become a liquor store, but add that element as a convenience.
When the fire marshall visited he said the fire suppression system had to be replaced. It had been that way for a decade but they had to do it immediately.
“When you start spending $2,000-$3,000 here and $4,000-$5,000 there it all starts to add up,” he said. “We went in knowing we were going to have to spend some money. We knew we were going to have to spend a lot of money. We just got to that figure too quickly.”
In the end, Mike said they just couldn’t get enough people through the front door to break even. They sat down and ran a multitude of scenarios to try and make it work and they just didn't add up.
This is hardest, Mike noted, on Randy and Tanya.
“He gave up a very good job to move to Broken Bow,” Mike said. “And they like it here. Their kids like it here.”
It spite of it all, Mike remains hopeful.
“I still believe this town is big enough for two grocery stores,” he said. “I’m optimistic that this will turn out in the best interest for Broken Bow. I hope the solution is one where the employees can have their jobs back.”
“In the end, for better or for worse, it is what it is.” |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 29 July 2010 )
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