Pop’s Grocery Shoppe sells

In 2005, Dan and Shelley Martin moved to Hermosa from Aberdeeen with hopes of retiring there. They soon joined Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, and those retirement plans were quickly put on hold when the congregation learned of their history in the grocery business. At the time, Hermosa had no grocery store, so they knew they could help fill a gap in the community. One member of the church had property in town and offered the Martins a good price if they promised to build and open a grocery store in town. In 2007, Pop’s Grocery opened and has been providing that needed service to the community ever since.
16 years later, Dan and Shelley are ready to finally retire like they had planned all those years ago.
“We’re not gonna fail this time,” joked Shelley, on retiring, but said that after 16 years in business, “you gotta like it.”
Soon, they will close on the sale of the store to Phil Preston and his wife Erin. Their three children, Madison, Caleb and Adelynn, also plan on working in the store eventually. Phil grew up in the area and currently lives just a couple miles outside of Hermosa.
“I just feel that it’s a good thing to keep in the community and it has the potential to be a good investment at the same time,” said Phil Preston.
Phil says he always considered himself a “jack-of-all-trades, master of none” and has worked in a variety of industries. He has worked in the healthcare and nursing home business in Pierre and Rapid City and works as a mechanic and operates equipment at Baker Timber Products. This will be his first jump into the grocery business.
Phil says he doesn’t plan on making any significant changes to the store, but says there may be “a few little product changes here and there, but that always happens.”
“I’m looking forward to working with all the people that come in, meeting the public and just being able to keep a grocery store in Hermosa,” said Phil.
For the Martins, the best part of the business has been “just the people,” said Shelley.
“They’ve been good to us,” said Shelley, of the customers at Pop’s Grocery. They both enjoy visiting with all the people who come into the store, whether they be local, from out of state, or even out of the country.
“I had a guy stop in from California last week and we talked for 45 minutes,” said Dan, who talks to “just about everybody that comes in. I start talking to people and it’s amazing how much you can find in common someplace along the line.”
“We got to know a lot of different people,” said Shelley.
Dan and Shelley wish for the same support and friendliness for Phil and his family as they begin to take the reins of the business.
“We wish the new family the best of luck. I hope the community supports them as much as they have supported us. I think they’re going to do well,” said Shelley.