Groceries Plus and E&J Business Spotlight

Jason and Erika Beckett have been the owners and managers of Groceries Plus in Erskine for 12 years now. They purchased E&J Grocery, Wine & Spirits in Oklee just this past year. Jason’s background experience is as a butcher. He said, “I’ve cut meat my whole life. We always processed our own deer, beef and pork.” While purchasing a bigger house for their family, the sellers said they also had the grocery store for sale, and asked if they wanted to do a package deal. Jason told Erika, “I know if I can eat it, I'm sure I could sell it,” explaining how they decided to get into the grocery business. All of the Beckett’s children have worked in the stores as they grew up. Even while in college, they’d work during the summer.

Although the two stores are less than 20 miles apart, the locations are very different. Erskine is surrounded by lakes, so Jason estimates that in the summer, the area’s population quadruples. Then, once the holiday season is over, business really slows until April. However at the E&J location in Oklee, the business remains steady.

Jason is a strong proponent of supporting local businesses. When he was told the Oklee store was up for sale, he initially resisted, but finally went to look at it. He said, “It’s a nice store. When the owners said that whoever buys it could put an off-sale in that was the tipping point. The numbers up there were a lot lower than here, but adding an off-sale justified doing it. We took a massive hit when Dollar General came to Erskine. I didn't think we were going to make it that first year after their arrival. In Oklee, there are no other competitors like that. So if that store would have closed, the people would have to drive all the way to Thief River Falls, Alvarado, Clearbrook, or Macintosh.” He added, “Keep shopping local. I try and do everything local with all the other businesses in town. It is how we stay in business.”

In the past, Jason experienced some nightmare scenarios with credit card processors. In one, what the processor gave him was different than what the paperwork said. He explained that the guy on the other end of the phone sounded like someone out of the Sopranos, saying things like “We will get our money.” He ended up having to take them to court.

Shortly after that awful experience, Scott with Robin Hood Business Services stopped into Groceries Plus. Jason admitted, “To be honest, it probably wasn't a very good first meeting. I just didn’t like anything to do with credit cards.” However, he liked that Scott was friendly and local. “Scott's been very good to me. Any time there’s been problems, he’s been here to fix them. If they couldn't fix it over the phone, they came in person. He's been great at both locations.”

When asked about the service he’s received, Jason commented, “Oh, it’s heads and tails above. Trying to talk to someone a thousand miles away to try and help you, if you can't figure it out, they're not going to personally come and take care of it for you. Scott always did – whether it was him, or one of the guys working for him.”

Robin Hood Business Services gave a big boost to Jason’s bottom line about three years ago, by explaining how implementing a Cash Discount program could save on credit card processing fees. Jason explained, “Scott explained it to us and I said, ‘Get it here yesterday!’ I pay $35,000 a year in credit card fees. It's your choice to pay with a card or a check or cash. That’s like one employee's wages for a year. It was really huge for my business [not having to pay the $35,000 per year any more].”

Would you like to have a discussion about how the Cash Discount program could improve your bottom line?

Give Robin Hood Business Services a call at 218-688-2204.

Groceries Plus and E&J Business Spotlight

Robin Hood Business Services