Larry Good of Gardner has found a good reason to come back to Emporia from time to time. His company, Bob’s Super Saver, bought the Price Chopper grocery store and both Reeble’s Country Mart stores. The original Reeble’s store had been in that family since Rudolph Reeble opened it in 1883.
The store, and the two that had been added, in recent years had been owned and operated by Arnold Graham, a son-in-law of Rudolph Reeble’s grandson, the late Bernard Reeble.
Good, too, has a direct Emporia connection: In the early 1970s he attended The College of Emporia, the Presbyterian college on West 12th Avenue, on a scholarship during the Vietnam War.
“I was on the last football team,” Good said. “My draft number came up, and I joined the National Guard to keep my scholarship.”
Good also worked on campus during his stay in Emporia.
“I was actually the school mailman for a while,” he said.
After college, he became involved in the grocery business and eventually bought the chain of Bob’s Super Saver stores from his former father-in-law. Good and his partner, Craig Dickey, have worked together for 25 to 30 years, he said, and now Good’s son, Matt, also is a partner, as well as accountant for the corporation.
“He told me the other day we’ve actually owned the company longer than Bob did,” Good said.
The company has carried on the original Bob’s policy of community involvement, Good said, and continues to expand into other activities to help with fundraising projects, particularly those involving young people.
This month, the Emporia stores donated about 1,200 small layer cakes for a company-generated fundraiser for proms at Northern Heights, Olpe and Emporia high schools. Students from those schools decorated cakes to order at the three stores for several hours on a Saturday, then sold the cakes for $4.99 each. All of the money went to the proms.
Another fundraiser, in conjunction with March Madness, is in the works for later this month. It will be a basketball contest held in the grocery stores’ parking lots and will present another opportunity for area youths to raise money for their projects.
Good said he doesn’t mind providing the cakes or the venue for the students to have fundraisers, but he wants them to enjoy the opportunity to participate directly in the activities.
“I think they should earn their things, as opposed to just handing out money,” Good said. “I think it’s a real positive impact on them. Frankly, it’s more fun.”
It also provides some diversion for the shoppers who come as the events are going on.
“Let’s face it, grocery shopping’s kind of boring,” Good said. “You’ve got to do something to keep it interesting a bit.”
Good said that he and his partners are looking forward to learning more about the community to help them decide what activities would be a good fit for this area. He likes the idea of becoming part of a community that has been welcoming, especially considering the exceptionally long ownership by the Reeble family.
“The reception in Emporia has just been fantastic,” Good said.
Good said that the large box stores and chains have made business challenging for owners of smaller grocery stores and small family chains, but the Wal-Marts of the world cannot provide the customer service that the community-friendly stores like Reeble’s and Bob’s look at as an asset for business. Continuing that service is hard work, but hard work is nothing new for Good, who as a youngster rose early to take care of milking cows and doing farm chores before school.
“I grew up on a dairy farm,” he said, “so I’d rather do this.”
blackdog40 (anonymous) says...
We have Darald and Gary listed as managers of the South and North stores. The correct term is co-managers. The other co-managers are Nancy Garcia for the North store and Janet Brown for the South store.
This must be corrected if you want to have a correct story.
March 12, 2008 at 9:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
blackdog40 (anonymous) says...
Of course we have the situation where a male with less than 10 years of grocery experience is given a managers job over females with 15 and 30+ management and grocery experience. This is the case with the Manager of the Chopper store. Does not seem right, but it does go along with the theme of your story of promoting the males and not the females. Glass Ceiling in Emporia.
March 12, 2008 at 9:26 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Peyton (anonymous) says...
Well I for one am happy to know that the new owner is going to keep up with the Reebles heritage of community involvement and has such a "hometown" attitude! I wish them luck as they transition and will continue to support our local grocers!
March 13, 2008 at 1:13 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
siamesefred (anonymous) says...
Gee... I thought the theme of the story was keeping a local grocery chain operating and reaching out to the community.
March 13, 2008 at 7:20 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
tosie (anonymous) says...
Has anyone noticed the prices and how they have skyrocketed since the sale of these stores? The prices are outrageous.....I guess they can do that though since there aren't very many options in Emporia for grocery shopping. It was nice when there was more to pick from before Food 4 Less and one of the Dillon's stores closed....it kept some good old competition in the town too.
March 13, 2008 at 1:50 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
orlando (anonymous) says...
I have noticed the price increase. After voicing our objection to the managers, I have seen some prices have lowered a bit, but still...... A few days after the change of ownership, the price of Sara Lee Soft and Smooth bread went from $2.29 a loaf to $3.09!!!! 10 days later when I went back, the price was 2 loaves for $5.00.
They are having a good sale on frozen goods now, but I have seen so many prices raised. It can't all be blamed on the rising gas prices. I prefer to shop the hometown grocery store as opposed to Walmart, but the higher prices have resulted in my shopping much more at Walmart and Aldi's.
March 13, 2008 at 2:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Pollyanna (anonymous) says...
Ditto to the comments regarding prices. I've been trying to avoid the dreaded Wal-Mart to support local stores as much as possible. I tried an experiment a few weeks ago to do all my grocery shopping at Price Chopper and see what the difference was in my total bill. Since we are fairly consistent in the items I purchase, I about hit the floor when my bill was more than $40 higher for about the same groceries I would have paid at Wal-Mart. Granted, I pick up a bunch of incidentals that I don't always need when I am at Wal-Mart, but I was discouraged to see the significant difference in prices. I will still shop at Price Chopper but I was hoping to eliminate Wal-Mart all together. Looks like that's not going to happen.
March 14, 2008 at 9:04 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Yes, it is discouraging to see prices go up. I was told that now that the Country Mart card is no longer in use, prices would reflect the card holdlers' savings for everyone. I've seen it in a few items. However, we must remember that prices are going up for everything, not just groceries, and we have to shop more carefully. In many cases, we may have to economize by not buying the brands we have become accustomed to. I wish I could say the same for milk. I feel sorry for folks with big families in the milk department.
On the positive side, I do most of my shopping at Reebles north, and I have seen a number of items being offered at clearance prices because the brand is being discontinued. A good time to buy. Also, I've been happy to see many brands never seen before, as well as new cuts of meat in the butcher case, even a bulk cheddar that has a very nice flavor. I am also glad to see that the bakery is offering artisan breads with a good crisp crust and chewy interiors. It didn't used to be that way. All the bread used to taste the same. Alas, they aren't baking Irish Soda Bread for St. Pat's this year. Guess I'll have to break down and make my own.
March 14, 2008 at 9:48 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Pollyanna (anonymous) says...
Create, I think you hit it square when you said we will have to shop more carefully. I do believe that with more attention to sales and coupon clipping, I could see the same benefits at our local stores as I do by shopping at Wal-Mart. With our economy being what it is, lots of middle class Americans are facing questions of "need vs. want". If I were to look at the situation with a "glass half full" perspective, the economy is forcing me to truly take a look at spending and what is of absolute worth and value in my life.
March 14, 2008 at 10:14 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Bingo, Pollyanna. Looking at absolute worth and value is what I call right on target too. Perhaps all this is a blessing in disguise as we pull up on the reins of spending and make decisions we haven't made in a long time. Do we really need it? Can we do without it? Is there a different way to do this?
March 14, 2008 at 12:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )