PAULLINA—Nestled right in the middle of downtown Paullina sits the bright teal grocery store that is Prairie Market.
Purchased by Laura Palmer in 2015, the store has gone through a few changes but has stayed true to its community values.
“We’re really just a big part of the community,” Palmer said. “Without the community, there would be no grocery store here. It’s about friendships and relationships. We just have built a really good trust with them and us, back and forth.
“We’re all working together to make Paullina a better place.”
The beginning of the journey did have its challenges. Palmer said that’s normal when starting a business.
“Very up and down, but more up,” Palmer said. “In the beginning, we were changing things. It was a little tough because we stayed with a lot of the same things. And then, we had to incorporate how people are shopping now, times they’re shopping, which is different now than it was 10 or 11 years ago. We’ve had to just continue to be willing to change.”
The biggest change Prairie Market implemented was to its hours. Originally, the store closed at 5:30 p.m.
That was a problem for a lot of residents.
“Almost everybody works out of town, so by the time they’d get back into town the store would be closed,” Palmer said. “We weren’t seeing the growth, and that’s where we saw the biggest growth, to give the community a chance to shop here. They drive by Fareways and Hy-Vees and come back to their community to shop.”
To combat that and help Paullina residents out, the store extended its hours to 7:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Saturday. It has proved beneficial for the store and the community, with the busiest times being 4-6 p.m. daily.
Another addition Palmer implemented was opening the store on Sundays. Originally, she set the Sunday hours for 10 a.m.-5 p.m. but shifted it to noon-5 p.m.
“Sunday is just what we do,” Palmer said. “I chose to open noon-5 p.m. to give everybody the opportunity to go to church. We have noticed a difference in the customers, but it’s important to take care of the staff.”
Part of that staff is manager Josh Hancock, who started nearly five years ago. One of his big duties is behind the meat counter, which the store prides itself on.
“It’s all Midwest beef,” he said. “We custom cut it every day. We grind our own ground beef. Customers will walk up and say, ‘Hey, I want this size of steak,’ and we’ll cut it fresh for them. It’s kind of unique.”
Hancock used to work in Omaha, NE, and said that the small-town, family-feel Prairie Market offers is what keeps people coming back.
“Here, it’s just, they know your name,” he said. “They ask, ‘Hey I heard your son was playing piano over here,’ or something like that. It’s just more connected. I have five boys, and I love raising them here. It’s a lot safer and people are always watching out for you.”
Palmer echoed that sentiment.
“When you walk through the store, there’s conversations going on amongst the customers, amongst the staff,” she said. “They all know each other. They go to church together. They just know each other in life. And so, it’s just a fun way to live instead of just running to the grocery store and running home and you didn’t talk to anybody.”
Seeing the regulars and the families come in is what Palmer enjoys the most.
“I would not realize this either, unless I was involved like I am, but people don’t realize how many young families are in this community,” she said. “The kids that come into the store, there’s so many. It’s just fun to see the community staying strong.”
Those relationships help both sides. The customers support the store, and the store tries to help customers with specialty items it might not have at the time.
“What Palmer’s been doing for years is if a customer says, I’m looking for this brand or product, we try to bring it into the store,” Hancock said. “To have that communication with the customers, just ask us. We’ll see if we can bring it in.”
He said the selection the store offers is competitive for the size of the building.
“For the square footage, we have some of the best variety and options,” Hancock said. “From organic to gluten-free to specialty products. We keep hearing from customers that we have good variety compared to others.”
It all goes back to the relationships within the community.
“I like to think of it as a place of light,” Hancock said. “Drama-free, and we like to encourage each other.”
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