Above: Trimont Town Center’s wall of local goods is displayed at the front of the store. The town center is working on offering more to accommodate for the community.

TRIMONT– The Trimont Town Center has recently made a few changes to better accommodate the community.

The town center, located on the south end of Trimont on the east side of Highway 4, opened in 2015.

The goal of the center was to be a one-stop-shop for the people of Trimont and beyond.

It offers a full grocery store with a deli, meat market and bakery, liquor store and fuel bay that sells diesel, ethanol and gasoline. It’s situated right next to ACE hardware. Between the various departments, the town center employs about 20 people.

Randy Grupe, town center board chairman, said, “The area that we’re servicing is considered a food desert. We’re about 20 miles from the nearest grocery store whether you go north, south, east or west.”

He said one day a few people were talking about revitalizing the town and bringing in a grocery store. Work on fundraising began and the store opened in 2015.

“It’s been well-supported from all areas on the western side of the county and into eastern Jackson county and southern Watonwan county,” Grupe said.

While the store has been successful in serving its purpose, it recently stepped up after another local business closed.

“We never want to see a business close in a small or rural community, but we are going to try to offer some of the services that Casey’s did to continue to meet the needs of the area,” Grupe said.

The store is now opening an hour earlier, at 6 a.m. daily. On Sunday it will open at 8 a.m., instead of 8:30 a.m. It will still close at 8 p.m.

As for hot options, breakfast sandwiches, burritos and pizza will be available.

Gretchen Olson, the store manager, has been employed at the town center since the fall of 2018.

Olson said the earlier hours will provide a place for people to get coffee and breakfast early.

“The coolest thing about our community is the people behind it. The town center is about the local people and our local vendors,” Olson said.

Olson is proud of all of the local products the town center offers. They sell Whole Grain Milling chips, out of Welcome, Harris Honey out of Madelia, Martin County Pork Producers products plus more. The liquor store offers local wine from Chankaska, Round Lake and Indian Island.

In addition to carrying products from the region and across the state, the store and liquor store are adorned with large photos of historic Trimont.

“We want to be a center hub for the community,” Olson said. “We’re always trying to do new things.”

They began putting on ribfest, typically every month. It usually includes a local wine or beer tasting.

“We had our first vendors on the green this summer where they could come set up out front. It was like a flea market/craft show,” Olson said.

Olson said people come from all over Martin County and beyond to attend ribfest.

In the fall, the town center offered a fall festival, which included pumpkin painting and face painting, as well as Oktoberfest.

Now with the emergence of the holiday season, several fun events are planned. Santa will be making an appearance this Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m.

The town center is also offering “Hometown Christmas,” which allows vendors to come in and set up their goods to sell.

“They can come a couple of times if they want. It allows people to Christmas shop without leaving home,” Olson explained.

More than that, Olson sees it as a way to give back to people in the area.

“I don’t want to be like every other grocery store. Our community is so supportive and we want to support them, too,” she said.

Updates and offerings at Trimont Town Center can often be found on its Facebook page.

“We want to be the town center and the place where everyone meets and that’s what happens. Everyone comes and visits,” Olson said.