Business Spotlight:
R & B Food Center

When you discover you’ve run out of milk or bread, or you realize you forgot to take meat out for dinner, you know how convenient it is to be able to go to the nearby grocery store for a few necessary items. However, as handy as R & B Food Center is, Wessington’s only grocery store is not merely a convenience store. R & B Food Center is a great place to do all your grocery shopping! That’s because R & B carries ShurFine and ShurFresh quality products, and while it isn’t a supermarket, it has most of what the bigger stores have–fresh meats and produce, sliced deli meats and cheeses, deli salads, beer, pop, ice, purified water, weekly specials and smiling faces to greet you–and even some of what the big stores don’t have, like no waiting in long lines at the check-out stand.

The local grocery store has been located in the same building on Wessington’s main street, since 1970, when Lenorard Fritzsche was the owner and the store and café was called Len’s. In 1974, Fritzsche sold the store to Hank Kunz, who then sold the store to Roy Clarke on January 1, 1982. Clarke renamed the store R & B Food Center–“R” for Roy and “B” for Betty, his wife–and five years later, sold it to his daughter, Vernetta LeGrand.

Vernetta says what she enjoys most about her business is seeing the people come in and shop. “The grocery business is about the customer,” says Vernetta, and that is evident when one notes how diligently she works to give the customers what they want. If someone asks for an item Vernetta doesn’t normally carry, she will gladly order it for the customer. She can get specialty meats and other specialty items, and is also willing to order case lots upon request.

R & B is also a great place to shop if you are planning a large event, such as a wedding reception, graduation party or family reunion. From meats and cheeses, salads, and beverages to plates, napkins, cups and even decorations, Vernetta can help you figure out everything you need, and her prices are very reasonable price, too.

A recent addition to the store is the 99-cent aisle, full of useful household and gift items, and food items, as well as gift bags and bows. R & B also carries greeting cards for every occasion, T-shirt and sweatshirts, and in the spring, sells bedding plants in the little greenhouse behind the store.

R & B Food Center has one full time employee, Virginia Kelsey, and Gay Testerman is hired to work part-time. From time to time, shoppers will also see Goldie Boggs or Peggy Moller working at the store, but Vernetta is quick to point out that these two insist on volunteering their time to help out, never asking for any money.

Vernetta has lived in Wessington for most of her life, raising her three children here. Daughters, Louise and Lisa, now reside in St. Paul, MN, while her son, Joshua, is currently a student at SDSU.

Over the years, Vernetta has been an active participant in community and economic development affairs. Currently, she is an EMT, president of the Wessington Public Library Board and a WOW (Women of Wessington).