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New grocery opens in Hermosa
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FarkHERMOSA -- While larger cities such as Deadwood struggle to support a hometown grocery store, tiny Hermosa is now home to Pop's Grocery Shoppe, a newly built food store on the east edge of town.
The owners are Shelley and Dan Martin, East River grocers who moved to the Hermosa area to retire.
And failed miserably at it.
"We retired, built a log home -- and got bored," Shelley Martin said with a laugh.
Her husband, Dan, was especially restless. They finished building their home six miles west of Hermosa in September. By November, he had a job at Dale's Tire in Rapid City. He's still there.
Meanwhile, people in town had heard that the Martins used to be in the grocery business. They urged them to build a new store in Hermosa. In fact, Gary Hunsaker, a builder, developer and Hermosa booster, gave them a good deal on the land where the store is located.
For years, Hermosa residents have sought to create a retail community to serve its fast-growing residential base.
In recent years, it has primarily been a bedroom community for Rapid City, especially after the Heartland Expressway project turned S.D. Highway 79 into a four-lane, divided highway.
Now, the town has gotten big enough -- the city finance office estimated the population to be 500, up from 315 in the 2000 Census -- to support a retail community in its own right.
Dan Holsworth, a member of the Hermosa Board of Trustees, said the addition of Pop's Grocery Shoppe is a good way to help a growing community grow even more.
"Everybody thought there was a need (for a grocer). Convenience stores are great, but it's nice to be able to pick up meat or something you need," he said. "And for seniors, there's no end to the convenience, because they don't have to go to Rapid City."
Hermosa recently approved tax increment financing for a senior housing project in town, Holsworth said. In addition, there is a new 55-home residential neighborhood just south of the fairgrounds and a 70-site mobile home park sits just to the north of the new store. And new residential neighborhoods are popping up in the foothills west of town.
Pop's Grocery Shoppe opened quietly on May 25, shortly before Memorial Day weekend. It's a big store -- about 6,000 square feet -- with four employees.
The Pop's name is a tribute to Maynard Martin, Dan's father. The elder Martin died last year. His picture hangs behind the counter of Pop's Grocery Shoppe. Years ago, he got them into the discount grocery business.
At one point, Dan and Shelley had five East River grocery stores. They were in Aberdeen, Mobridge, Roscoe, Clark and Castlewood. They closed the Clark and Castlewood stores, and 2-1/2 years ago, their son bought the other three stores.
Theirs is a particular niche in the food business, often called discount groceries or dent shops.
Discount grocers buy bulk items from wholesalers that deal in damaged goods that have been rejected by retailers such as Albertson's and Safeway. They can be dented cans, sliced cereal boxes or foods with some other cosmetic problems.
Shelley Martin maintains that their wares are safe; they never sell cans that bulge or foods that could be contaminated.
And at Pop's Grocery Shoppe in Hermosa, dented cans are only a small portion of the inventory. The shelves are also filled with regular groceries, fresh produce and nongrocery items such as soaps and supplies.
The couple buys regular groceries through an agreement with Krull's Market in Hill City. Big wholesalers such as Affiliated Foods require a regular monthly commitment of several thousands of dollars in purchases, she said. Krull's orders merchandize on their behalf and charges a small fee, she said.
Pop's also sells beer, soft-serve ice cream, some camping supplies and a line of South Dakota-made products.
The customers are mostly local folks from the Hermosa area. One Rapid City couple recently came down and bought $120 worth of food. In addition, she hopes to start seeing more customers from Red Shirt and other communities on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
"Every day, we're getting new people," she said.
Contact Dan Daly at 394-8421 or dan.daly@rapidcityjournal.com
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