By LuAnn Schindler
Publisher
Ewing Family Foods updates store's coolers and freezer section
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March 25, 2021
LuAnn Schindler
Stocking shelves • Brett Kaczor and Vicky Bollwitt stock a new cooler system, installed last week at Ewing Family Foods, with produce and dairy products. Kaczor said the updated system is one way the local business is reinvesting in its future.
Shoppers at Ewing Family Foods may notice the freezer section, located along the east wall of the store, features a new look.
The produce cooler along the north wall also has a fresh appearance.
The family-owned grocery store updated the store's refrigeration system recently, allowing the store to expand offerings and utilize space.
In-stock items were pulled from coolers and the freezer section beginning March 10 and stored in the walk-in cooler.
Kaczor said old coolers were removed March 15.
"It was a process getting it through all the doorways, up the ramp and outside," he said.
An area heating and cooling contractor told store owners that another store recently replaced their refrigeration system and it was available for sale.
The old system had started to have mechanical issues. Kaczor said one of the coolers removed was date-stamped 1975.
"They were probably used when they were put in, too," he noted. "They got us through."
They purchased the used system, in addition to a new medium-temperature cooler.
Manager Brett Kaczor said the frozen section expanded from nine doors to 16.
"We'll have more products. We have so much more space in the frozen section," Kaczor said. "It's how people shop now, meals that are prepped. They'll have a lot more to choose from.
In the past year, the store saw an uptick in business, especially at the beginning of the pandemic.
"Early on, sales increased because everyone was afraid to leave town," Kaczor said. "Now, since things are back to normal, sales have dropped off, but it's also a slow time of the year."
The Greg Thramer and Terry Kaczor families have owned the Main Street business for seven years.
"We finally decided if we're going to stay here and stay in the business, we need to start reinvesting in the business," Kaczor said.
Eventually, the families hope to update other cosmetic elements in the store, as well as promote new items, which may draw former and new customers and create a shop local mindset.
"We're hoping it (the reinvestment) attracts a younger crowd to come home, too," he said.
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