Store observing anniversary

A local market is turning 75 and still looks so young! The owners of Ideal Market will soon celebrate their store's 75th anniversary. Three generations, grandfather Russell McCord, father Larry McCord, son, Shannon McCord, have kept Ideal going. Through competition from other stores, closures of grocery stores and factories, reduction in area population, wars, market crashes and recessions, Ideal has withstood the test of times and is still going.

Russell, or Russ, moved from Fairbury to Superior when he purchased Master Market and changed the name to Ideal Market. Between 1953 and 1969, Russ purchased lots and buildings for the store's expansions and for one portion as a residence which his son, Larry, and his wife, Pat, occupied later. During those years, the locations that were acquired were Superior Ice Cream Company, a former power plant, bottling works, dairy and ice plant.

Improvements were made to the building. Electric front doors were installed, flooring was changed to vinyl tile, modern conveyer belts were installed at check stands and butcher counters were modernized to include pre-cut packaged items for self-service. There was a round, rotating table with the daily specials that greeted customers as they entered the store. In April 1965, Russ hired the "world's tallest man, Henry Hite, promoted as 8 foot 2 inches" to greet customers. Later, Russ brought in the Wilson and Company's six horse Clydesdale team to show customers what it was like to get deliveries in years past.

Hard work and creativity continued with Russell's son, Larry. A fun fact about Larry when he attended Superior High School, he was the most decorated football player and played in the Shrine Bowl. After high school graduation he attended college then served in the Navy in Antarctica, before returning to Superior. Larry married his wife Patricia and they had two children: daughter, Cassidy and son, Shannon. The store's improvements consisted of more than 100 feet of upright frozen cases installed, the first scanning equipment was in use and a bakery, fresh deli and salad bar were added. John Pettigrew, a local baker, was hired to manage the bakery department.

Larry was artistic with marketing. He placed a crashed car in the country with a sign attached saying "Don't hurry to Ideal, just get there." There was a windmill with an arrow pointing the way to the market, a model train that ran around the inside of the store and the Percheron horses he raised, would strut through parades and fairs to advertise the store. Larry and Pat's children grew up helping at the family's store. Shannon left town to attend college with intentions of returning.

After Shannon graduated from Doane College in 1998, he returned to Superior to help run the family business. In 2003, Larry's accidental death left the family to decide the future of the store. Shannon followed in his father's and grandfather's footsteps by taking up the reins in managing the store. "It is near and dear to my heart. I love it," said Shannon. He took similar action to maintain Ideal's structure and function. His focus is to find ways to save on energy costs.

On the south side of the store an insulated brick façade was put in place where the large windows had been, six efficient compressors replaced 17 old models, all refrigeration cases were updated with energy efficient ones, all lights inside the store were changed to LED -with the assistance of Ace Hardware- and lighting was added to the parking lot. Two self-check outs were added as a convenience for customers who prefer to use them as opposed to larger stores who operate largely with mechanisms for assisted checkouts as cost saving measures. Ideal Market did not cut back hours or replace any cashiers. "We have the staff. If there are two customers in line at the register, we call for another cashier," said Shannon.

Awnings and an updated Ideal logo were added to the outside of the building. For ease of a customer's shopping experience, all the carts have been replaced. Even the office documents stored in banana boxes were updated to current file management systems. Sometime in April, there will be solar panels added. Shannon said, "We can generate our own electricity that way." He had researched wind energy, but it turned out to not be cost effective at this time.

Shannon had an opportunity to open another grocery store. After careful consideration, he knew it would cause him to be spread too thin between two stores. With an understanding of responsibility required to keep the grocery store and community alive, he decided to focus his energies on one store. "When the grocery store goes, then the community fades away a short time later and it is devastating to the community," said Shannon. By keeping the store flourishing "they support the people and then they support us," he added.

Keeping a small-town store thriving has its challenges. Before 1936, manufacturers could sell the same wares at discounted prices to their "preferred customers," or retailers, and not to others. A Big Box store could purchase volumes at a much lower price, and sell it that way drawing more customers leaving a small business to suffer as costly products were passed to the customer. The price discrimination caused "food deserts," or retailers going out of business because they couldn't compete with their competitor's lower pricing. The Robinson and Patman Act was enacted to protect small business and prevent unfair pricing, fixing minimum prices across the board. However, enforcement of the law by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has decreased and the inequity continues. Small town businesses are faced with this preferential pricing, as is Ideal Market. Big Box stores are focused on profit and losses whereas at Ideal Market their heart is for their community and employees. There are new technologies available for efficiency to manage a store, but "that could potentially eliminate jobs, so we will move forward without it because we want to keep people employed," said Jenny.

Shannon met Jenny in February 2006, and they married in October 2006. Jenny had not worked in a grocery store prior to the marriage. She has her MBA in business management specializing in commerce and was planning her return to the university for a possible career change when they met. She had previous experience working as office management and decided to work with Shannon at the store. "Her expertise and organizational skills have been an integral aspect to Ideal Market," said Shannon.

Jenny's desire is to keep the store operational and to maintain customer service. "I would like the store to still be open so my children stay in town," she said.

Shannon and Jenny want to celebrate Ideal Market's 75th anniversary with the community with customer appreciation week. This event will take place Wednesday, April 3, through Sunday, April 9. During that week there will be hot sales in the store, drawings for give aways, donation opportunities and a dinner.

Next week's flyer will have the sales advertised, but a hint of what is coming is to think "75." There will be special donuts of-the-day Monday through Friday, Ideal Market's own Gravel Tops at 75 cents each. On Thursday, April 4, there will be samples in the store. Ideal Market will have 75 sacks of grocery give aways.

All week customers will have the opportunity to round up their purchases to the next dollar to support Nuckoll's County Food Pantry at the check stand. Friday, April 5, from 5 to 7 p.m. will be a customer appreciation dinner for the community at the Superior Auditorium. "It's a great location. I am so glad the Auditorium is open. My father played basketball there," said Shannon. Dinner will include hamburgers, two side salads and a cookie for dessert. A highlight of the event will be special entertainment performed by the Superior High School's choir. Shannon will also share his vision of Ideal Market's future. Free-will donations will be accepted to aid the Simic Skating Rink for the improvements in progress.

The McCord's endorse the rink, as "Simic is a special place for youth to go. It gives children something to do in a safe environment and entertainment for the community. Youth can actively exercise their body and not just their thumbs on a hand-held electronic device. It's a fun place for birthday parties," said Shannon.

Additional drawings will be for "loads of $75.00 gift cards from 21 local businesses." The drawing will be held at the close of the business day on Tuesday, April 9. Below are the businesses represented for the drawing:

Petro Plus, Kenny's Lumber, Superior Spirits, Harold's Auto, Main Street Floral, Sandy's Sweet Shop, Walt's Furniture, Las Canteras, Total Elegance, Carmen's, Superior Pharmacy, The Cutting Edge, Aunt Flossie's Cupboard, Waves, Ace Hardware, The Corner Nook, Black & Burlap, Superior Motor Parts, Simply Chic, Superior Vision, Total Fitness, Revive Massage and Ideal Market.

Shannon and Jenny are making plans for the future of Ideal Market. Their long-term vision is to always be here for the community. "We want to keep the community alive," they said. Their focus is on energy efficiency, reducing carbon footprint, support of local gardeners, farmers and ranchers and the health and well-being of them.

As previously mentioned, next month solar panels will be installed to save on electricity. Shannon has begun vertical farming at Ideal. He is hoping this spring or summer customers will be able to purchase lettuce from this method. Using a system of drip irrigation and recycling the water so every drop is used instead of it dispersing into the ground saves on water expenses. This also will help reduce the need to order from an out-of-state wholesaler. The shipping process takes time for food to arrive and the nutritional value decreases as it travels. Buying from suppliers adds to the cost as well. Growing produce adds jobs to the community locally and encourages healthier eating. Shannon said, he looks for "where I can do the most for my community and want the community to prosper too."

He prefers to buy from local farmers, ranchers and community growers. Currently, Ideal Market carries products like sweet corn, cantaloupe, jelly and honey from local growers. Some of these might be a little higher in price as they are produced on a smaller scale. A large manufacturer may like a small-town recipe and offer to the individual to manufacture their product promising increased income. The catch, however, is that they want to change the recipe to make it easier to mass produce; like adding fillers. Often home-town growers disregard those offers because they have a greater perspective on their community and their health. Think of it as "hometown neighbor buying the health and well-being of a neighbor," said Shannon.

Shannon will be working with Brodstone Healthcare's dietary department to create "affordable, convenient, low calorie, taste-good meals," said Shannon. His goal is to aid the community in health. Working with the dietary department they will analyze the community greatest needs, for example, diabetes, to lower blood pressure and so on, and to try to help solve these health problems through food at the market, "What we put in our store is what goes in our community," said Shannon.

"It will be trial and error to see what the community's preferences are," said Shannon. Their feedback will be welcomed. The idea is to be done in three ways: 1) offer cooking classes to teach how to prepare a specific healthy meal from raw products that participants can take home with them. This would be the most cost-effective method. 2) all ingredients would be gathered together for the same meal, as mentioned in No. 1, for customers to purchase and take home and cook. Another possibility is that it would be prepared and kept in the refrigerator or freezer cases for customers to take home and cook or heat up. For those short on time the same meal will be 3) prepared and in the hot case in the deli to grab and go. The second and third conveniences would increase in price as it involves more time and labor from Ideal's staff.

By the end of his career in the food business, Shannon would like to make a difference in the ability to purchase meat directly from local ranchers and butchers. The government is involved in the constraints on this industry. As regulations are set up now, cattle and pork are required to be sent to slaughterhouses. There is a long process before the meat gets to the grocery store. Shannon would like to see local ranchers be able to send their cattle to a local butcher and then straight to the grocer and consumer eliminating all the middlemen and delivering fresher product. Having a rancher and butcher working together to suffice government requirements will eliminate the middleman resulting in driving the product prices up. Having it local increases employment opportunities for local people to process meat. It is a huge undertaking, but Shannon hopes to accomplish it before he retires. For now, he will focus on fruits and veggies because that is what he can do.

So, how has Ideal Market stayed in business for so long? "As the community grows, we grow. It's so very important, that's why we've been here 75 years," said Shannon. Other ways Shannon and Jenny feel that the company has thrived for so long are: their love for the community, exceptional customer service, product availability, pricing and keeping up with technology and maintaining the building to name a few. Mostly, they want to say "thank you" to the community "We want them to know we appreciate them."