GOWRIE GROCERY STORE
COMMUNITY SUPPORT
Congratulations to the entire community and those that volunteered time, money and resources to make this a reality!! Market on Market officially opened to the public in April 25th, 2020!
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Several members of the community have stepped up to raise funds to form a new entity to purchase and create a community grocery store! The goal was to raise $250,000 very quickly to purchase the building, contents, fixtures, freezers and inventory of the existing store as well as have working capital to move forward with the new business.
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The fact that the community can raise these funds in less than 10 days is absolutely outstanding! Funds are still being accepted by mailing a check to Gowrie Grocery LLC, PO Box 42, Gowrie, Iowa 50543.
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WHY IS A GROCERY STORE IMPORTANT TO GOWRIE?
Gowrie offers a huge variety of amenities to attract people to the community: parks, golf course, swimming pool, skating rink, child care center, service and retail businesses, healthcare, fiber to the home high speed internet, and so much more!
Like most small towns the local grocery is a cornerstone to the downtown. It brings people from the surrounding area into our town to shop and is a competitive draw for home buyers and homeowners. It is critical to the local food pantry and elderly residents that don't travel out of town often. It even affects local businesses and restaurants for daily supplies.
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A food desert? From Gowrie the closest grocery stores includes traveling 13 miles east to Dayton (a small community owned grocery), 20 miles north to Fort Dodge, 22 miles south to Jefferson or 23 miles west to Lake City (another locally owned grocery). Although it would seem easy distance for commuting to work it can be difficult for others.
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GOWRIE GROCERY LLC
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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Gary Kuhn, President
Karl Streit, Vice President
Marsha Farnham, Secretary
Kathy Carlson, Treasurer
Bruce Towne
Phil DeCastro
Tom Schill
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Matt Nahnsen, Store Manager
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Donations are still being accepted and LLC shares are available.
HOW DID WE GET HERE?
The Gowrie community has been fortunate to have had the store run locally for decades by the Petersen family. When then owner, Jeff Petersen, decided to retire it took time to find a buyer. There was concern at that time that the store would close. Local leaders were pleased to learn that an existing grocery store owner was interested. Having owned six other locations the future looked bright!
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Until it didn't. Stores within the new Heartland Market chain began closing with little or no notice to customers. Concerns escalated in December with the nearby closings of the Manson and Rockwell City stores leaving neighboring Calhoun County with only one grocery store.
When a small group of people got together they contacted the owner about interest in selling the store. Working quickly and with no time to find a prospective new business owner, a community meeting was held on January 6, 2020 and the group suggested a plan of action if money could be raised. The goal is to raise $250,000 by January 15th. With a huge crowd and standing room only it is evident that the support of the community is positive.
Once the funds were raised a Board of Directors was assembled to create the Gowrie Grocery LLC entity to purchase the estisting store and contents, hire a new store manager and get back on track. The store officially opened as Market on Market on April 25th, 2020 with plans to continue to evolve and grow the store with the whole support of the community. Thanks to those who have been involved this this and continue to support the store.
The rest is history!
Pictured below, approximately 150 people were in attendance at the community meeting held in Gowrie, a town with a population of just over 1,000.
