Rural Grocery Spotlight: Kansas Rural Grocery Road Trip

Road Trip Banner

In August 2025, over 30 legislators, funders, and rural food access stakeholders came together to visit four rural grocery stores in north central Kansas. We started out at Klema Apple Market in Russell, KS, where store owner Jon Birky showed us around his store and highlighted local food offerings available in store. Then on to the K-State Extension office in La Crosse to hear Pat and Kelly’s Baalman’s story of renovating and reopening the La Crosse grocery store as B’s Hometown Market. The third stop on the tour took us to Town and Country Supermarket in Hoisington, KS. After a tornado took out the original grocery store in 2001, owner Randy Deutsch and his wife Debbie, an interior designer, reimagined the Town and Country Supermarket into the store it is today. Lastly, Rick Weigel and his daughter Nicole greeted us at Wilson Foods with a meat and cheese tray in hand as they shared how their meat department sets them apart. At each stop, attendees visited with grocers and even brought home items that contribute to each store’s ‘claim to fame.’

Themes of the day:

  • Credit Card Processing: Rural grocers pay processing fees for every credit card swipe at their store. These fees are set by credit card companies and the business operator has no way to lower them. To minimize the fees local businesses pay for credit card swipes, consider paying with debit. Better yet, pay with cash.
  • Local Sourcing: Local grocers are nimble compared to national brand counterparts. That means local grocers can feature locally produced items. Watermelon (DeVore Farms) and locally made pasta noodles (Tommy Sue’s) were just two examples of locally produced items featured in stores on the tour.
  • Technology: Advances in technology were also a key theme of the day as attendees were able to see digital shelf tags at B’s Hometown Market and Grocery TV at Klema Apple Market. Point of Sale system upgrades to accept healthy benefit cards were also a point highlighted during the stop at Klema Apple Market.
  • Labor: Challenges in recruiting and retaining staff were cited at several stores. Finding skilled laborers, such as meat cutters and butchers, were referenced as a persistent issue. Still road trip attendees were greeted with a smile at each stop, showing that rural grocers have much to offer as their friendly small town market.

This was the first time the Rural Grocery Initiative hosted the Kansas Rural Grocery Road Trip. The team hopes to do it again in other parts of the state.

 

Kansas Rural Grocery Road Trip Image Gallery

  • In August 2025, over 30 legislators, funders, and rural food access stakeholders came together to visit four rural grocery stores in north central Kansas.
  • The first stop of the day was Klema Apple Market in Russell, Kansas, where store owner Jon Birky showed attendees around his store and highlighted local food offerings available.
  • Klema Apple Market store owner Jon Birky is pictured here showing attendees some of the local produce offerings available in store.
  • The next stop of the day was B's Hometown Market in La Crosse, Kansas to hear Kelly and Pat Baalman's story of renovating and reopening the store.
  • Attendees were able to get a glimpse of digital shelf tags in action at B's Hometown Market in La Crosse, Kansas.
  • The third stop on the tour took us to Town and Country Supermarket in Hoisington, where owner Randy Deutsch shared about his efforts to reopen the store after a 2001 tornado.
  • At each stop, including this one at Town and Country Supermarket in Hoisington, attendees had time to explore the store and walk the aisles.
  • At the final stop, Rick Weigel and his daughter Nicole greeted attendees at Wilson Foods with a meat and cheese tray in hand as they shared how their meat department sets them apart.
  • After hearing about the store's meat department at Wilson Foods, attendees were eager to take some of the specialty brats home for themselves!