Couple buck odds working Gilman City business

Bill and Barbara Whitten of Lake Viking are both nearing retirement age, so when friends and family heard they were going to start up a store in a small town, they exclaimed, “Are you nuts?”

The Whittens answered, “Yes, we are.”

They were motivated by tradition. They wanted to see Gilman City sustain a small, family-run grocery store that could maintain important social ties with customers.

“We hated to see this little town die,” says Bill. “Gilman City always had a grocery store up until two years ago. When that store closed, it was like another nail in the coffin.”

It took them nine months to get the Gilman City Grocery Store up and going. They overhauled and remodeled the old building. As entrepreneurs, they made a few miscalculations.

“One of our biggest mistakes was in not understanding the amount of work that would be involved,” says Bill. “There’s always something to do.”

Beyond the intestinal fortitude and business skills, the Whittens needed plain energy to survive.

Bill has a barber shop in Gilman City and works full time in Kansas City. Barbara works three days a week at Wal-Mart.

“We’re stretched pretty thin,” says Barbara. “But we keep going, like the Energizer Bunny. Fortunately, we have really good part-time help.”

Bill and Barbara lived in Gilman City for 30 years and their three children went to Gilman school. They had a house there until a couple of months ago when they moved to Lake Viking. They know the town well.

Locals can go to eat at one of two restaurants in Gilman City. There’s a senior center; a shoe repair shop, a used furniture shop, a grain elevator, a bank, a roofing company, a post office, a filling station and a lumber yard.

The grocery store’s trade area includes a six or seven mile nucleus. There biggest seller is the deli meats and their busiest day is Saturday.

“Mornings are slow,” says Barbara. “In the late afternoon it can get pretty crazy.”

While Bill takes care of the merchandising, Barbara and their daughter, Julie, run the store. Barbara also does deli trays for special events.

They’re open six days a week, closed on Sunday — unless somebody sees them at church and really needs something. They also offer home delivery in town, and out of town — if somebody really needs something.

They celebrated their second anniversary at the store two years ago last January. They have seen a 10-15 percent increase in business the second year.

“During the gap, when the old grocery store closed and before ours opened people got used to shopping elsewhere,” says Bill. “They don’t start coming back overnight.”

They still manage to attract a steady flow of customers.

“We’ve operated in the black since we’ve been here,” says Bill. “It’s a good living. It will never be a gold mine, but we knew that from the beginning.”

The Whittens took on the business venture at a time when giant supermarkets have replaced most mom and pop grocery stores.

“It’s impossible to keep up with the big grocery chains,” says Bill. “We’re able to compete by a little wise purchasing. Because we lack shelf space, we only carry those things that are necessary.”

Early on, there was the scary possibility of not getting a vendor to supply the store with milk. They finally worked out something with the school’s milk supplier.

“Corporate America has turned its back on small business,” says Bill, who says the issue all boils down to economics. “We just don’t have the buying power of big companies. Supermarkets can buy large volumes of goods at lower prices.”

Bill says the store’s low overhead is its biggest advantage over bigger stores.

“And we offer convenience,” adds Barbara.

The local population may frequent supermarkets, but they also save a portion of their food budget for the corner store to maintain a relationship.

“We depend on customer loyalty,” says Bill. “Some customers do all their shopping in the store, out of support for us.”

“When they don’t shop here, we’ve learned not to take it to heart,” says Barbara. “People go where the bargain is. We understand that. People have to make ends meet, especially young people with growing families. We just don’t have room in the store for a lot of variety. We’re only able to stock one item in a line.”

Barbara is from Kansas City and doesn’t take small town life for granted:

“It’s nice to know your neighbors. In the city you don’t know your neighbors and sometimes you’re afraid to know them. Here you know everyone by their first name. There’s a kind of trust, like a family. You know who’s been sick, who’s had a new baby. I think it helps keep the young people in check, too. If they get in with the wrong crowd, the community knows it, and can sort of shame them for it. In a big city you just don’t have that closeness.”

A craft shop adjoining the grocery store just opened this year. The crafts are provided by all local people and taken on consignments. There are a lot of wood crafts, cedar chests and oak cabinets.

“There’s a lot of gratification, in spite of the amount of work and the aches and pains that come with our age,” says Bill. “We don’t know how long we’ll be doing it. But we want to make sure a store is here. There’s definitely a need. Somebody can make a living, if they’re not greedy. We’re looking for a way to retire.”

“But we may be walking down the aisle with a cane,” says Barbara.

Barbara and Bill Whitten hope the store will stand like a rock where it does now in downtown Gilman City.

“You gotta do it the best you can,” says Barbara. “It’s not just a job where you punch in a card and put your time in. We take a lot of pride in our work.”

“When I ring up a sale and hear someone say, ‘I’m so glad you’re here’ I feel better,” says Bill. “I feel like we did the right thing.”

The other Whitten’s children include a son, Keith, and his wife Michele, have three children. Daughter, Gina, and her husband Jeff, have a family of six. Their other daughter, Jill, and her husband, Brian Ward, have three children.