HUMBOLDT The Monarch Cement Company has come to the rescue of Moons Hometown Market by purchasing the building and thus freeing up much-needed capital to keep the grocery afloat.
In a statement to the Register, grocer Michael Moon said Monarch is now the stores landlord while he will continue to own and operate the business.
Moon, who also has a grocery store in La Cygne, said the transaction would help improve the stores operating cash flow moving forward.
Moon described the process: We were nearly debt-free and had quite a bit of available equity in the real estate. Monarch came forward, interested in doing what it could to help preserve the only grocery store in town and offered to buy the building and real estate.
A shift of equity to cash flow and Monarch giving Moon a favorable rental rate will permit him to consider making long-delayed improvements.
Walter Wulf, CEO of Monarch, said, A grocery store is important to any small towns sustainability. Monarch is not getting into the grocery business. Our participation is merely as a landlord for the purpose of freeing capital that Mr. Moon may use to invest in inventory and more energy-efficient equipment to operate the business.
Moon said the transaction was a big step for the store, but would not guarantee long-term success.
It is obvious our store has been struggling for several months, he said. We enjoyed a few successful years in Humboldt, until the Walmart Supercenter opened in Iola. Since then, weve had to deal with other new area competitors, such as Humboldts Dollar General, Iolas Bollings Meat Market and, most recently, the G&W Foods in Iola. Each time one of these opened up, our sales dropped a little bit.
Even with all the equity we had in all our real estate, many local bankers are nervous about the future of rural grocery stores, making new loans difficult for small operators to obtain, Moon said.
In addition to the agreement with Monarch, we are seeking financing from other sources, such as Allen Countys community foundation, the Kansas Healthy Food Initiative, Network Kansas, and the Southeast Kansas Regional Planning Commission. Thrive Allen County has been a great resource and currently is working with us on packaging our requests.
I am very grateful for Mr. Wulf and his commitment to the success of Humboldt, Moon added. He is very concerned about the potential loss of the towns only grocery store, and he understands how devastating it would be for the community.
With that being said, the bottom line is that we need the support of our local shoppers to make this work. That is difficult for me to say when store conditions are as poor as they have been, but its the truth. We feel the town is on the cusp of some really great things, and we want to be a part of that renaissance.
As we work to improve and turn our store around, we hope Humboldt residents will give us another look. Otherwise, its a long trip for a fresh tomato on taco night.
