Posted on 06/22/2009 9:05:25 AM PDT by Son House
Nearly all the 24 Malt-O-Meal bins were empty, refrigerated dairy cases had but a few gallons of milk, and many shelves of Wiens Food Center were bare Friday.
"It's going to be a sad day tomorrow," Lisa Stephan said as she shopped for food for her family's upcoming vacation to Branson, Mo.
At 6 p.m. today, the only grocery store in Lewiston will close. Scott Wiens, who owns it with his wife, LouAnn, said he can't get enough business with the store at its present size and can't afford to expand to compete with bigger stores nearby. Any remaining food will be sold to Mike's, another independent grocery store, in St. Charles.
It means people will have to drive at least 12 miles or more for most of their groceries.
Three people at the store Friday said the closing means more than extra driving time. It means a harder time to raise money for FFA, fewer jobs and a harder time for Vickie Luehmann to bake Christmas cookies.
Stephan said her children were once in FFA and sold fruit they bought from Wiens.
"We always knew the fruit would be good," she said.
For Natalie Schumann, the closing means she will have more time on her hands this summer. She will be a senior at Lewiston-Altura High School next year and planned to work at Wiens again this summer. She was shocked to hear it was closing.
"I didn't think it would be really closing," she said while waiting for the final few customers taking advantage of close-out prices.
She liked working there, she knew nearly all the others.
Now, she's looking for work again.
"I just hope I get a job soon, that's all I'm worried about," Schumann said.
Vickie Luehmann said she has been shopping there since it opened 18 years ago.
"Certainly it's a loss to our community," she said. "Scott really bent over backwards to get things."
For example, her husband, Howard Luehmann, works for IBA Dairy Supplies and she makes about 200 plates of Christmas cookies for customers. Wiens would help her by getting all the flour and other basics she needed and made sure he had her favorite brand of chocolate chips.
When there was a fire or some other disaster, he helped by making sandwiches or other food.
And at Wiens, staff members carried out groceries. Vickie Luehmann liked that.
Now, she'll have to shop in Rochester or Winona or St. Charles.
The closing is "certainly a loss to our community," she said.
Of all the economic data that keep coming out, there is little to no evidence the Stimulus has a positive influence on economic growth.
“It’s going to be a sad day tomorrow,” Lisa Stephan said as she shopped for food for her family’s upcoming vacation to Branson, Mo.
HEY LADY! All our stores are full of food. Just buy your food down here.
Around here, the small village grocery shops hang on by the skin of their teeth. Margins are just too small to compete with chains and Walmart and this has been true forever. The major advantage to the little stores is many let customers run a credit line, paid when their checks arrive.
The IGA in the nearest town with a Super Walmart is employee owned, has better meat and produce and has survived against all predictions. In April, they had a huge batch of Black Angus whole muscle cuts in cryovac that was priced below the same meat at Sam’s and was sold out in a couple of days. They always have cheaper avocados.
We routinely drive 8 miles to the grocery store and have for 35 years. Once every 6-8 weeks, we drive 45 miles, one way, to stock up at big box stores, Aldis and a grocery with the best produce prices within 100 miles (for this, Green Bags are essential). Once or twice a year, we even drive 90 miles to visit a Trader Joe’s, a couple of Asian stores and do other things. Usually, I go with a girlfriend, as our husbands detest this sort of shopping. If the guys go along, we split up and they go to West Marine and the hunting supply stores and then we meet up for a nice dinner somewhere.
People do what they do. If the folks in this little town had supported the small grocer, they would still be in business. It is probable that most of them were more than willing to drive 12 miles for a bigger selection and better prices.
We used to call this capitalism based on consumer free choice and it was just how things worked.
Lewiston, Idaho?
Son House is great, by the way...along with Charley Patton, Skip James, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Blake, Robert Johnson and Tommy Johnson.
I love all those great prewar Blues guys!
Ed
Who the hell knows? We’re supposed to guess where, I guess.
Minnesota, I realize after it posted the first square bracket ‘[’ was close to the Mn put in the post title
“a harder time for Vickie Luehmann to bake Christmas cookies. “
Good grief.
We used to call this capitalism based on consumer free choice and it was just how things worked.
It still is, "capitalism based on consumer free choice" as you noted.
I was raised in a small town in Missouri, population about 1,600. Back in the 50s we had 6 small grocery stores in our town. Then just 7 miles away in a somewhat larger town, a Kroger and A&P opened for business. Over the course of just a few years all the stores in our town were closed, they could not compete. I think of that every time I see someone complain about W-M running mom and pop stores out of business. This has been happening long before W-M came on the scene.
I support the local hard ware store where I live for minor purchases but when I need something costly, I have found that Menard's or Lowe's is always less expensive for the same product.
Thanks!
Ed
Lewiston Minn - I thought the same so I looked it up.
Pop 1435
A villiage IOW - I’m surprised there are any local businesses left. Looks like a small faming community in SW Minn.
Our local hardware is pretty good, and we have a Tractor Supply, as well. But you are right: HD and Menard’s have better prices and selection. Although, I have to give WM credit: our pool vacuum head attachment finally bit the dust after 22 years of service and in such a manner as to not be repairable. We thought we would have to go to the pricey pool store 45 minutes away for a replacement and WM had one for under $30. Convenient.
For some items, we like Northern Tool Supply, especially when they offer free shipping.
Back in the day, our little town had 3 hardware stores and 6 shoe stores!!!! Service and prices were lousy. Salaries for any help was miserly. All the shoe stores are gone and we have the one True Value hardware left.
I hate these articles that name a town but not the state. I’m from Eureka Calif. but there are about five Eurekas in the US.
Nope. South EAST MN. About 30 minutes from where I’m sitting.
Eureka, CA is a beautiful little city...
I live in SW Oregon.
Ed
“Looks like a small faming community in SW Minn.”
It’s SE Mn., but if the N.Koreans fire a nuke West toward
Hawaii, it might be SW Mn.
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