Forty-seven years. That’s how long Russ Friesen of Halstead has worked at and/or owned Halstead Market. He began working there at age 16. “Started out as a carryout boy, and then he went to meat cutting,” his wife and other co-owner Charlene Friesen said. Now, he’s 63. The Halstead couple purchased the business in 2003, and they added a bakery to their endeavor in 2010. The bakery has the scent of sugary treats floating on the air, and there’s an entryway through which people can get to it through the market or they can use the bakery’s front door. There, they make cinnamon rolls from scratch, and the flavors include caramel pecan, cinnamon and raspberry. The raspberry rolls are the only ones without cinnamon. They also sell a variety of other pastries, like donuts and long johns. They get those pre-fried, and then they bake and frost them. There’s a register in the bakery, so people can pay there or in the market. They also sell coffee to go along with the sweet treats. Other items they bake include a variety of cookies like chocolate chip, peanut butter, oatmeal chocolate chip, snickerdoodles, monster cookies and sugar cookies. Since there’s no flour in monster cookies, they’re gluten-free. Other items include yeast breads. They’re usually done baking by around 1 p.m. The larger part of the store has a full line of groceries including pharmacy items, dairy, meat, produce, canned goods, bottled water and soft drinks. That part of the store takes up about 5,000 square feet. “Pretty much what you see in any grocery store,” Russ said. “We cut our meat and package it and sell it at our meat case.” Whatever breakfast sweets don’t sell, around noon they package them up and have them for sale on a shelf. They also carry area-made items like peppernuts from Durham, coffee from Inman, honey from Hesston and flowers from near Halstead. In 2019, they put in all-new freezer, dairy, meat and produce cases. “It changed the looks a lot,” Russ said. “More efficient too,” Charlene said. Not counting the Friesen couple, the market has 10 employees with two of those being full time. Currently, they have a full staff but that can change, Russ said. “We enjoy the customers and being of service to them,” Russ said. “It’s fun being here for the community, and you just know your customers on a daily basis,” Charlene added. “It’s special to see the community support us.” Sometimes, customers shop once a day, while others go in once a week. Russ and his wife put in a lot of hours, he said, adding he works 10 to 12 hours a day. The couple has three children, one of which is Jana Friesen, who manages the bakery, and all three worked there as teens. The couple also has six grandchildren. Halstead Market is the only grocery store in town. “We really appreciate the support we get from those that do their shopping here,” Russ said. Having their store is important to them, Charlene said. “We want to keep our grocery store since so many have closed in the other towns,” she said. “It seems like a day brightener to have our customers become our friends. They’re here for us, and we’re here for them. Nice having conversations with customers. It’s a pleasure to be able to serve them when they support us.” A big seller is their German sausage, which they make themselves. “The steaks would be a big item,” Russ said. “We cut those here also.” Other popular sellers include ground beef, pork chops and chicken. They get business not only from Halstead but from other towns like Sedgwick and Burrton, which used to have grocery stores. Russ said the grocery store moved to its current location at 145 Main St. in the mid-’60s. Before that, it was catty-cornered to the current location where the chiropractor’s office now is. He wasn’t sure when it opened there. “People are glad we’re here,” Russ said. “They appreciate us being here.” Charlene said people appreciate that they don’t have to drive to Newton to get their groceries. Customers aren’t the only ones who buy groceries. The place where the Friesens purchase their groceries for the store is Affiliated Foods in Amarillo, Texas. “They have a bakery,” he said. “They bake the bread that we sell. They bottle the milk there. They do bottled water.” It’s pretty handy getting all their groceries on one truck that delivers to them twice a week, Charlene said. Their busiest time of year is Thanksgiving and Christmas, and they sell turkeys at that time. Since they’re busy with their store and home, neither Friesen has a hobby. “Trying to keep the home fires burning,” Charlene said. Store hours are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and the bakery is open those hours except Mondays.
Source: Harvey County Now
