Local News

Wednesday, January 30, 2008 Jon's Family Foods in Clarissa 25 years of quality and customer service by Karin L. Nauber It's a little hard for Jon Miller to believe, but 25 years have gone by since he and his family bought the former Farmers Co-op Store in Clarissa. When they first bought the store it was called B & J Grocery. Jon's dad Blayne, his mom Helen and his sister Kathy worked together to get the store going. "The idea always was that I would eventually buy the store," said Jon who started as co-owner and store manager. When they first bought the store and took over ownership on Monday, January 3, 1983, the Millers intended to continue to have a general store which included a line of clothing and boots, some household items and a full line of groceries. At that time their grocery supply company was Ludke of Alexandria. "Our plan was to build sales," said Jon. After the first year, the clothing and boots were dropped because they couldn't sell enough to keep the items in stock. The store became all groceries at that point. In 1985 the store switched to Red Owl whom they worked with until 1991. "Then Super Valu bought Red Owl so we became a Super Valu store," said Jon. They continued with Super Valu as their supplier until 2001 at which point they switched to Nash Finch, another wholesaler. "We became Jon's Family Foods with Nash Finch," he said. Throughout the 25 years in business, Jon said that quality has always been stressed from the produce to the dry and canned goods. "Customer satisfaction has been another area we have always stressed from the checkout to the carry-out to getting in new products," he said. It isn't always easy keeping up with the constant change that comes with new products entering the market and necessary upgrades, but Jon wouldn't change a thing. He enjoys working with customers and the challenge of successfully running a local grocery store. Some of the changes he's made in the store have included upgrading the cooler and the checkout scanning equipment which saves a lot of work and is a lot quicker, both for the customer and the employees. "We try to upgrade at least one or two projects a year," said Jon. Another addition to the store has been the smokehouse which was added in 1995. A more recent addition and one that Jon wants to expand is the dollar value section which has been a boon to the business. He said that during their next remodel that area will see expansion. Jon has always tried to carry a wider variety of name brands to encourage shopping close to home. "We always try to make things better for the customer and for the business," he said. Jon said he is grateful to the customers and employees the store has had throughout the years. He is planning to have a 25th anniversary sale this year-so be sure to watch for it. In the meantime, Jon will continue to offer the best that a hometown grocery store can and more.