Powder River Examiner -

Recent shoppers at Broadus IGA may have seen some new faces in the store, which were very recognizable for longer term residents – those faces belonged to Mark Wenzel and Larry Woolston. Wenzel and Woolston, both previous owners at Broadus IGA, recently partnered together to buy the store from Rita Harden, who had owned the business in recent years.

Wenzel and Woolston, who have a combined 100+ years of grocer experience, along with the Broadus IGA crew have been revamping the store, opening up the aisles to allow folks more freedom of movement.

There are other plans for change in the works: "The biggest change is in our buying power," Larry commented during a Monday interview. Larry owns the IGA in Lemmon, SD, and is able to pull stock from two warehouses, in Bismarck and Billings. This allows the Broadus store to have more options for stock – if a product is out of stock at one warehouse, it may be in stock at the other. It also allows more purchasing power – combining orders into a pallet price for both stores allows lower prices. In addition, the added buying power means better selection, and more variety. All good news for the local shopper.

The refrigeration system is expected to be updated in the near future, as is the lighting in the store, which will be switched to LED bulbs. These changes are expected to be more cost effective in the long term, and save a lot of energy in the process.

Mark Wenzel began working at the IGA in 1988 as a bagger and carryout person, and will be working as Store Manager in the future.

Larry, along with his wife Blondie Woolston, purchased the store in 1988 from the Mellors, and owned the store until 2010. Larry is currently working as a self-described "grunt" in the store, moving products around on pallets, updating the stock, and doing whatever needs to be done to help out.

The duo thanked former owner Rita Harden for her hard work in the store over the years.

Both Larry and Mark were quick to thank their employees for all their help and hard work. Shane Woolston will continue as Meat Department Manager, with Darlene Woolston taking over as Deli/Bakery Manager, as long-time store employee Sis Mills retires. Pharmacist Jami Jo Schroeder and Ginger Bird will continue their hard work in the Pharmacy. Bobbie Meyers is heading up the Produce Department, and Carolyn Sturdevant is Frozen Foods Manager. The store is also hiring in all departments, so interested folks should come pick up an application.

Mark and Larry also wanted to thank Blondie Woolston and Kristina Hunderman for helping to make things click with the new ideas and changes.

Hours at Broadus IGA are back to the "normal" summer schedule, from 7 AM to 10 PM, Monday through Saturday, and 9 AM to 9 PM on Sundays. The Pharmacy is open 9 AM to 5 PM, Monday through Thursday.

The store is being thoroughly cleaned every morning, and check outs are still being wiped down on a regular basis throughout the day, to try and keep everyone safe from COVID 19.