A grocery store is a grocery store.
They have selections ranging from produce to meat and deli, to frozen foods and cereals, all handled by stockers and cashiers.
After spending his career managing, operating and owning grocery stores, Mahomet IGA’s owner Brooks Marsh knows that the green beans his store sells are probably not very different from the green beans that another grocery store sells.
But he knew that he could create an environment, an experience, for both the employee and the customer, that would make his store different than any other.
“Hey, everybody sells green beans, but how are you going to touch someone’s life and make it better today?” he said.
“Some of my employees laugh about that, but a lot of them say, ‘Hey, here’s what I did.’ Sometimes it’s just a smile, and other times it’s a pat on the back.”
For customers, the Mahomet IGA slogan, “Hometown Proud” carried more meaning than just having a grocery store that is less than five minutes away. For some, it meant being able to pick up a “crack” Bulldog cheeseball for a dinner gathering, to others it meant knowing that your groceries would be carried out to your car and for others, it meant knowing that you could ask for an item, like “Yum Yum Sauce” and the staff would do what they needed to have it available.
Beginning on April 1, 2020, some things, but not everything, will change about the 39,000 square-foot space located at 202 Eastwood Dr.
Mahomet IGA will become Schnuck’s. Brooks and Tammy Marsh sold their business to the St. Louis-based grocery store on March 6.
The store will close at 5 p.m. on March 29, a Sunday, to be closed for two days while over 100 Schnuck’s employees change products and put new signage on the interior and exterior of the store. Then, after a ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 1, the grocery store will once again open for business.
Brooks and Tammy will no longer be part of the team, but after updating employees on the change Friday, making sure that each one connected with the Schnuck’s team, the staff is expected to remain intact.
In fact, Brooks and Tammy fought for that within the purchase deal. The caveat was within the purchasing contract, just like it was when they purchased the store from Chuck Allen 15 years ago.
Chuck was a customer of Brooks when Brooks was with SuperValu. Brooks would travel to Minnesota, Wisconsin, Colorado, Mississippi and Illinois, among other states, while working as a distributor. Allen was ready to sell, having been approached with other offers, but he thought Brooks and Tammy Marsh might want to become the owners.
“Chuck didn’t want to sell to a big player, he wanted an individual to treat the customers like he did,” Brooks remembered.
“In fact, I told them you can get more money from this ‘x’ or ‘y’,” Brooks said. “He said ‘No, this is our price; we’re not negotiating. It was a good price: very high, but it was a fair price.”
As Brooks and Tammy entered into talks and negotiations with different corporations that were interested in purchasing the Mahomet IGA from them, they knew where Chuck Allen’s pricetag came from.
The Marshes were buying the building, the business and a staff who was committed to the Mahomet community.
“Many of them are still the same when Chuck was here,” Brooks said. “They’re the ones that really keep the customers happy, keep you profitable, and keep your store successful.
“Chuck was more worried about them than getting a little bit more for the price.”
Brooks and Tammy agreed that in the end, Chuck’s vision for new ownership is what helped steer them in the direction of Schnuck’s as the supplier for Mahomet.
“It’s a big company, but it’s a family company,” Brooks said. “It’s still owned by the Schnuck’s family.
“They have a very good reputation with their team, they have very good programs, and I was really comfortable when they said that they would hire all the people.”
Through discussion with lawyers, and Schnuck’s Chief Financial Officer David Bell, Brooks said that the employees are really what makes Mahomet IGA successful.
“Why wouldn’t I help them?” Brooks said.
Brooks said his point was greeted with enthusiasm by Schnuck’s.
He remembers Bell saying, “I understand that and I respect that. We want those kind of people working for us anyway.”
Brooks noted that he made sure to connect with an employee who was nervous that her job would be cut yesterday. When she learned that Schnuck’s doesn’t have the job that she does , she wasn’t sure if her job was secure.
“She is very relieved and happy because she really needs her job. And she was paid well because of the kind of job she did for us,” Brooks said. “They wrapped around a job for her. So she’s very, very happy.”
Talking to and working with other business owners, Brooks and Tammy know that it is one thing for leaders to say their company is great, but it’s another thing for employees to echo the sentiment. Getting to spend time with Schnuck’s employees since discussions began, Brooks and Tammy feel good about leaving their employees in Schnuck’s hands.
“The people I talked to love their company and love how they were treated,” he said. “And that’s what tells you not only the bosses, but the rank and file, they’re the ones that you’re gonna get an inference from; but everybody I talked to felt good about the company. And, that was why we felt most good about them.”
While the familiar faces of Mahomet IGA will stay the same, walking into IGA on a weekday afternoon, seeing Brooks and Tammy talking to customers may be more scarce. The couple plans to stay nearby while also taking the time to visit their other home in Georgia, spending time with their family and grandchildren, and traveling.
“I’m looking forward to spending more time with my husband,” Tammy said. “A little less stressful life.”
Tammy remembers the days that she used to work in the office right next to her husband. As their children grew, Tammy began to work from home a little more, eventually setting up an office there.
But Brooks said that Tammy was the one who always worked best with employees who need a loving ear.
“She’s more empathetic than I am,” Brooks said.
Brooks remembers that as problems arose within the store, he would give his two-cents about how to fix it, but Tammy would talk things through with the employees.
Tammy loves how Brooks was always able to talk heart-to-heart with the teens, guiding them to the point where they either made the right decision at the time or came back to thank him for his wisdom.
“Kids have told me things that they didn’t tell their parents,” Brooks said. “And I had to manage them tenderly because some things, the parents eventually needed to find out. I encouraged them to do that.”
Brooks said that he may not be able to stay home long, though.
“The thought of me being at home doesn’t work for me at all,” Brooks said. “We go on vacation and by the second week. I’m ready to get back to work.
“(Work) becomes part of your personality, you need it,” he said. “You don’t want your identity to be your job, but when you go somewhere every day and you interact with people every day, it does become part of your personality or part of yourself in a way, in a good way, in a positive way.”
The Marshes said that the Mahomet IGA community, the customers, employees and vendors, have become part of their family over the years.
“The thought of not being here is very weird,” Brooks said. “It’s just a happy/sad moment, like many in our lives are.”
Brooks, who began working in local grocery stores at the age of 15 when he asked his dad for money after doing chores on their family ranch in Montana, said that he might be interested in doing some consulting work while working with young entrepreneurs in developing countries.
“I’ve been to Poland a couple of times,” he said. “And the young entrepreneurs are second generation since the wall went down, and they want to know how to run their business. So that’s exciting.”
He has his feelers out for a couple opportunities, but is hoping that things will fall in place as the changes over the next month take place.
Brooks and Tammy have been known for their involvement in the Champaign County community over the years, and that will continue to be a priority no matter where they are.
Tammy worked tirelessly with the Mahomet-Seymour Education Foundation, the couple felt passionate about supporting Salt & Light, especially when they began to provide empowerment opportunities for local people in need. Recently, Brooks served on the Champaign County Board and together they have been active in their church and youth ministry.
“It’s a foundational belief,” Tammy said.
“We live in a capitalist society,” Brooks said. “Those that have the ability to help people not only should, but it’s also gratifying and it’s the right thing to do to be a blessing to other people in any way you can.”
“It’s an important part of our business, owning a business here,” Tammy said. “You need to be part of the community.”
The Marshes said that Schnuck’s has already shown interest in continuing to give back to the community in the same way that the Marshes did during their time as business owners.
Brooks said that Schnuck’s has already heard from people about what they did for Mahomet-Seymour, and they don’t want to miss those activities, either.
He also said that Schnuck’s has said they want to keep Kaffee Mahomet, the sushi and clothing lines Mahomet IGA provided space for.
“They’re saying (they) don’t want to come in here and be different to the community in such a way that (the community is) saying we have a huge loss,” he said.
Brooks admitted that there will be some things that will be different, but there will also be things that will be better.
“So in that way, you feel like you’re leaving the business, but still leaving something better for the community as well,” Brooks said. “There’s gain and loss of both, but there are certainly some ways this will be better for our community.”
It didn’t take long for the Marshes to wear their hearts on their sleeves and to tear up when they reflected on their time serving Mahomet.
On Friday, Brooks and Tammy enjoyed receiving well-wishes from community members who appreciated what they brought to make the Mahomet IGA, a “Hometown Proud” space.
The Marshes said that they are sad to leave as the owners of Mahomet IGA, but they are excited to see what the world holds for them next.
“It’ll be different and we’ll miss it,” Tammy said.
