Dairyland Peach Sections Business Profile 2019 | Page 15

evoted to serving people
is the continuous involvement with the community,
Shoutz said.
There are 60 grocery stores under the names of Co-
born’s, Cash Wise, Marketplace and Hornbacher’s in
addition to 70 convenience, liquor and other retail lo-
cations throughout the Midwest in Minnesota, North
Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin.
Coborn’s offers a variety of store designs, such as
Coborn’s, Cashwise Liquor and Captain Jack’s.
As serving their guests better is at the forefront of
the company, Coborn’s offers several divisions of fuel
and convenience stores, pharmacies, in-house grocery
warehouses, distribution centers, in-house central bak-
ery and Tops Cleaners.
Several of the stores across the Midwest also feature
other businesses, such as Ace Hardware, Caribou Cof-
fee, Country Floral, Dunn Bros. Coffee and Subway.
The history of the growth of Coborn’s as a company
is eventful. In 1936, the market purchased a walk-in
cooler, which allowed it to enter the meat market busi-
ness. The store continued to expand through the years.
Shopping carts and checkout lines were added in the
1940s and in 1952, the store implemented a “cash and
carry” policy, which continues today. Previously, Co-
born had allowed his customers to buy groceries on
credit.
In 1963, Coborn’s expanded and added its second
store location in Foley. Later on, a liquor store was
added near the store in Foley in 1970.
As the additional liquor store proved itself success-
ful, having a nearby or inhouse off-sale liquor store has
become quite common. Today, most Coborn’s grocery
stores have a liquor store either in or nearby the grocery
stores.
Continuously looking to improve its guests’ shop-
ping experience, Coborn’s was the first grocery retailer
that started using scanning at its checkouts.
In 1979, Coborn’s expanded further by adding a
Cashwise Foods Store in Willmar. Despite the fact
One thing customers at Coborn’s can always count on is fresh produce. Pictured are store directors (from left):
Jamie Shoutz (Sauk Centre), John Howard (Long Prairie) and Craig Zylka (Melrose).
that bagging is usually not provided at Cashwise Foods
Stores across the upper Midwest, the warehouse-like
discount store appeals to many guests with its low pric-
es.
In 1986, Coborn’s opened its first convenience store
in St. Cloud. “The Little Duke’s” stores, located in
Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, offer
guests fuel at competitive pricing.
Even when the stores are closed, guests have the op-
tion to fill up their vehicle’s gas tank with the pay at the
pump option.
The convenience stores were named “Little Duke’s”
in honor of Duke Coborn, who is the grandfather of
Coborn’s current president and CEO, Chris Coborn.
Long Prairie Melrose Sauk Centre
645 Lake Street So
320-732-6202 105 East Main St
320-256-4444 214 12th Street
320-352-5990
Open 6 AM - 12 AM Open 6 AM - 11 PM Open 6 AM - 11 PM
7 Days a Week
7 Days a Week
7 Days a Week
Employee Owned • www.coborns.com