Marketplace owners hope improvements and customer
loyalty will keep grocery store in Caledonia

   When Steve Smyder and Craig Johnson took over ownership of Caledonia’s only grocery store in October 2006, they understood the immense job they had before them. The former Jubilee store had all been run into the ground under the previous ownership. The store was dark, dirty and scantily stocked and there were barely any customers still shopping there.

   Johnson, owner of the building, felt a loyalty to the community to try and resurrect the store by partnering with an experienced co-owner in Smyder, to hopefully turn things around. They shut the store down completely for two weeks and reopened on a limited basis after that, with a new name, Caledonia Marketplace.

   "Unfortunately, the store had earned a real bad reputation by the way it was run. For those two weeks we basically cleaned a lot, interviewed and hired good employees and rearranged the store," Smyder explained.

   Since then, the owners and store manager, Todd Irwin, have not stopped in their efforts to continually upgrade and improve the appearance of the store and increase the variety and volume of the stock, all aimed at regaining the customer’s satisfaction and loyalty. The store has a new produce and deli manager, both who have expanded the variety of items offered and ensure the freshness.

   According to customer comments, the majority of people are pleased with the appearance and cleanliness of the store and most are satisfied with the expanded variety of inventory on the shelves. The store is affiliated with a wholesaler located in Olean, New York. The close proximity of their warehouses allows them to purchase larger volume and variety and also helps to ensure product freshness. Irwin says they are always adding new items, something that is expected to continue as shoppers’ demand dictates. He says customers can always request a specific item and they will do their best to carry it.

   With the store clean and bright and friendly employees working to assist customers, Smyder and Johnson say it is the old, energy inefficient equipment that is their next concern.

   "We know we are working with energy inefficient freezers that we need to upgrade and replace. We need to build the store sales up a little bit more so that we can do that," Smyder said.

   "As sales and customer loyalty increase, we will solve and upgrade the equipment problems. We want to reinvest in our business," Johnson commented.

   Both owners say that customers are steadily returning, but not at the volume that had hoped.

   "We’re trying to win back the customer’s confidence but it hasn’t come as quickly as we’d like it to," Johnson said.

   Smyder reports the same dilemma but says they hope that as they continue to add new items and conveniences, such as the expanded deli that now offers several varieties of daily made salads and fresh roasted chicken, customers will return and make Marketplace their choice for their entire weekly shopping needs. The store also has plans to add a submarine sandwich station in the near future.

   Smyder and Johnson know that it all comes down to hometown friendliness that the local grocery store can provide the customer. They give a "hats off" to their management team and all their employees who they say have stepped up their efforts to provide customer satisfaction. They are hearing good things, like one shopper waiting in line for a hot rotisserie chicken who said she was skeptical about returning to shop at the store but is glad that she did. Another shopper from neighboring LeRoy, said the outstanding meat department was the main reason she came back to shop at Marketplace but admits the rest of the store has also improved so that she can now do all of her food shopping there. Still, Irwin knows that the store cannot provide all the bells and whistles that the larger stores can. He says it’s especially difficult to provide items that are not big sellers because they cannot sell them fast enough to ensure freshness. An example of this is when a local shopper couldn’t find fresh escarole in the produce department last Saturday. Irwin says the request for escarole and other specialty items is fairly small, but says he will make an attempt to get it for her in the future.

   The biggest thing now facing Caledonia Marketplace is competition from the big box stores, in particular, the looming possibility of Wal Mart coming to LeRoy.

   "Wal Mart is our big concern and whether or not we’ll be able to withstand it. If people are going to start driving there to shop, this store will not be here in Caledonia," explained Smyder.

   Johnson agrees that a Wal Mart built that close by would be a definite threat to the viability of Caledonia Marketplace. They hope by continually improving the store they can win the customer’s confidence and keep their shopping dollars local, in time to withstand the big box advancement.

   The owners want customers to know that they have plans to expand the store, making it the store of choice for shoppers.

   "If the community supports us, we’ll make it a better store," said Smyder.