LINDSAY — The shelves will remain stocked at Lindsay Cooperative Market.
John Keller, owner of Main Street Market in Humphrey, has agreed to purchase the business from the Temme family.
The purchase was announced March 20 during the cooperative’s annual board meeting.
Members of the Keller family were greeted with applause and thank yous from about 40 people who attended the meeting to learn about the grocery store’s future.
The store’s outlook was in question after the death of Larry Temme on Oct. 31, 2023. Temme owned the store, as well as Rae Valley Market in Petersburg, and he and his brother, Tom, later bought Shell Creek Market in Newman Grove.
The Kellers will take over ownership in May.
Jackson Schnitzler, manager at Main Street Market and a 2013 graduate of Lindsay Holy Family, said it’s great news for both communities.
“It’s definitely exciting. I know for myself, I grew up in Lindsay and I’m very excited to be able to give back to Lindsay, and with Humphrey being my home now, it’s nice to be able to work together and contribute to both communities,” he said.
Richard Bender of the cooperative board is equally happy the deal came together.
“I think it’s a great deal, it’ll help them out, too, and it’s a lot closer than Petersburg for unloading. They can unload their truck and then come over here. We just need to get the younger generation to shop instead of treating it like a convenience store,” he said.
The deal came together in a short time. Schnitzler said the cooperative board approached Main Street Market about a month ago.
“It moved pretty quickly,” he said. “I know one thing we looked at is they wanted to give enough notice to have their liquor license transferred (into Main Street Market’s name) because they carry alcohol and tobacco over there. They wanted to make sure that was taken care of,” he said.
Main Street Market will have to apply to have the liquor license put in its name.
The purchase will enhance the offerings at the Lindsay store.
“The Temme family had Chester chicken and brought it over, but they didn’t really bring a lot of their meat products over, so that’s what we’re looking to do. They did bring over cut steaks and pork chops, so we’ll be providing that now, and also providing our sticks, our summer sausage, our smoked sausage, we’ll be able to bring in our homemade meats,” he said.
Main Street Market is known for its meat processing and a fully stocked meat counter, and those items will now be provided in Lindsay.
The Kellers own the business, including the inventory and point-of-sales system, and the cooperative board owns the building, coolers and other items. The store name remains Lindsay Cooperative Market.
Both stores are supplied by AWG of Norfolk. Lindsay will continue to receive deliveries once a week, with Main Street Market getting deliveries twice a week.
Now, instead of items having to be trucked from Petersburg to Lindsay, when needed, someone from Humphrey will deliver items to Lindsay, a much quicker trip.
“That’s one thing the Temmes dealt with is they had a 30-minute drive one way, and we have a 10-minute drive,” Schnitzler said.
There will be no changes in hours at the Lindsay store.
Schnitzler said having a store in Lindsay will help spread the word of Main Street Market’s homemade meat products.
The need for more local residents to shop at the store was brought up during the meeting, and had been an issue with the Temmes, and it is an issue all small-town businesses face.
Schnitzler said they have tried to make products that are more convenient for families and will offer those in Lindsay, too.
“We tried to do more items that are ready to be put in the oven or thrown on the grill, everything is pre-seasoned,” he said. “Especially in today’s day and age where both partners are working, and when they get home they want something that’s quick and easy. It used to be the farm wife stayed home and took care of everything, and that’s definitely changed now.”
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