Episode 71 // Bonnie Ramsey of Ramsey's Market
This week on the podcast we’re in Lenox, Iowa (pop. 1,407) with Bonnie Ramsey of Ramsey’s Market and Ramsey’s Ace Hardware. Bonnie’s telling us all about how she and her husband Theo have turned a grocery store into an entertainment business that’s focused on providing a unique, one-of-a-kind experience for their customers. We also talk about why grocery stores are so important for our rural communities, how Bonnie and Theo compete against the big box stores in a small, rural town, and how they opened the first Ace Hardware in the US with a bar - where you can literally have a beer and buy a lawnmower at the same time.
You’ll love Bonnie’s heart for this community and her passion to give back. It really shines through in everything she and Theo are doing. She also has a great perspective on how to set your retail business apart and stay relevant in our rural communities. Bonnie and Theo truly are making Lenox a fun destination and it’s one you’ll want to put on the list for your next road trip!
We thought, how cool would it be to really embrace the retail in a small town and bring this entertainment value that we had learned all over the country back — hoping that it would draw people in and grow the community.
— Bonnie Ramsey
We really just up and decided to move back. We had grown in our jobs in St. Louis and had got the positions we never thought we would get and had the house we never thought we would have, and I realized that none of that mattered, that it was the people that mattered, and being part of that community that I had missed so much. So we really just sold everything, packed up, and moved back home.
— Bonnie Ramsey
PODCAST SHOW NOTES AND LINKS:
Lenox, Iowa
Ramsey’s Market
Ramsey’s Ace Hardware
Tiger Taco
Facebook: @ramseysmarket