Today we’d like to introduce you to Tommy Smith.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I grew up in central WA and spent the first 10 years of my grocery career cutting meat for a regional chain. After 10 years we decided to make a life change and sold our home and moved to the mid-west. We had a 2-year-old daughter and were pregnant with our second child at the time. We decided to make Arkansas our home since we had family who had recently moved there. In Arkansas I cut meat for a regional chain and quickly made my way up the chain to the corporate office as a meat buyer. After 4 years I had an opportunity with a wholesale grocer to be a buyer for them in Oklahoma. We sold our home and once again were off on a new adventure. In Oklahoma we had our 3rd and final child. I worked my way up in various positions with the company there and was given an opportunity to advance to the role of Sr Meat Buyer at one of their other divisions. So once again we sold our home and moved to Springfield, MO. I stayed on with the company and held various positions as I grew my career. The last 8 years with them I was VP Merchandising for the Springfield Division. In 2015 we decided we wanted to look at moving back to the NW. I googled grocery stores for sale on the Oregon Coast and found this little store in Warrenton OR. We made an offer on the store and took possession in August of 2015. So once again we sold our home and loaded up for a new adventure. This time our oldest daughter had a 2-year-old child and they decided to sell their home and join us in this adventure as well. All 3 of my kids now live in the area and work in various roles at the store. We have had the store for almost 11 years and have been truly blessed by this community. Even with the additional competition since we have had the store (Wal-Mart and Natural Grocers) we have been able to carve out our Niche in the downtown market. A little store with family values, excellent employees, great customer service, fresh produce and the best meat on the Oregon Coast. We are very proud of what we have been able to accomplish and look forward to continuing to serve this community.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Lif is never a smooth road, but you are always in charge of how you handle the bumps and turns. Any time you have new competition open it creates an opportunity to either quit or fight harder. We choose to fight harder. Moving to new places can also be a struggle but we have always embraced it.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We are known for our friendly employees, our fresh meat, our fresh produce, and our customer service.
I am most proud of my family. They have stood behind me and beside me every step of my career.
My wife started a program the year we got here to help high school kids at Christmas time. We adopt 25-30 kids every year and provide them with gifts at Christmas. Some of these gifts are computers, new oven for their home, paying off parents medical bills, new clothes etc..
Our family started a Fall Festival in the community as well. This was open and free to the public. Games, Prizes, Bounce Houses, Trick or Treating etc.. The first year we had over 5,000 people attend.
I feel like all of these things have helped the community embrace us and support our store.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I don’t really consider them risks but instead I view them as doors that open and choosing to walk through them. As I mentioned, we have uprooted our family on multiple occasions in order to take a chance on new opportunities. Buying the store was probably the biggest risk. You never know how a community will embrace you, however, we embraced this community by getting involved in various ways which helped open the door for us.
Pricing:
- Low Prices on Meat
- Low Prices on Produce
- 20% Off Meat Sales Quarterly
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Mainstmarketwarrenton.com
- Instagram: Mainstmarketwarrenton
- Facebook: https://Facebook.com/mainstselectmarket
