Cash

Wise to

expand

Coborn's plans to close Randall's next summer

By CHRIS VETTER

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Cash Wise Foods will be expanding soon, and Randall Valu Center will be closed by next summer, says an official from the company that owns both New Ulm grocery stores.

Coborn's, which purchased Randall's in September 1999, announced Wednesday that it will close the store in July 2001 when the newly-expanded Cash Wise is completed.

The company plans to spend $5 million in expanding the grocery store and constructing a new gas station and video store on the corner of Highway 14 and Garden Street, said Sue Mackert, public relations executive with Coborn's.

No layoffs are expected during the transition or closing.

"The expansion plan will create up to 12 new jobs in addition to retaining the 230 employees already employed at the Cash Wise and Randall Stores," a company press release states.

"Coborn's always looks at how these changes will effect employees," Mackert said, noting that it is the goal of the company to retain its entire staff, both entry-level and management positions.

Randall's will close, but the building will still be owned by Coborn's until a new buyer or lease agreement can be reached, Mackert said.

"We've been talking to other potential customers," she said. "It's a possibility we could help New Ulm fill that site."

Brian Tohal, coordinator of New Ulm Economic Development Corporation, said he was pleased with the news.

"Obviously, any new expansion is a positive," Tohal said. "But we have to weigh that against the loss of Randall's."

Tohal was pleased that the closing will not involve loss of jobs.

"That's obviously a benefit to the community, assuming similar wage rates."

Tohal would like to get the Randall's building filled immediately.

"We hope to work cooperatively with Coborn's to fill that building in a timely manner," Tohal said.

Cash Wise will be expanded to the north, on ground that is currently owned by Kmart. The grocery store will be expanded to 68,000 square feet, up from its current size of 46,000 square feet.

A deal that involves Kmart selling a 147-foot long strip of its property to Coborn's has been agreed upon, but paperwork has yet to be finalized, according to Jim Thomas of Upper Midwest Management in New Ulm, who is working on the sale. When the paperwork arrives from Kmart headquarters, construction will begin immediately, Thomas said.

"We started trying to buy it last November, and it isn't done yet," Thomas said Wednesday. He explained that a large company like Kmart has many channels that a property sale must go through before it is completed.

The City Council approved a simple lot division in its early October meeting, separating land that will become Coborn's property from the Kmart-owned ground.

In the expanded grocery store will be a health and pharmacy department, a natural foods section, a bank, an expanded floral department, one-hour photo processing center and a sausage kitchen, the company press release states. The deli also will be expanded, and a sit-down cafeteria -- much like what is already in Randall's -- will be installed.

The 7,000-square-foot gas station and video store will be called a 'Little Dukes.' It will be the 17th Little Dukes owned and operated by Coborn's, Mackert said.

"The intent is to provide for convenience," Mackert said. "People want to get in and get out," when they pick up a movie.

A company study showed a need for another gas station, especially in that location, Mackert added. Little Dukes also will feature a car wash.

Construction on the gas station began this week, and it is expected to be open by February, Mackert said.

Dick Ginn, manager at Randall's will now manage Little Dukes. He said employees were "relieved" when they learned that no layoffs would come from the merger.

Coborn's has owned Cash Wise since it opened. It then purchased three Randall's stores, including the New Ulm facility, in September 1999. Mackert said Coborn's did not initially purchase Randall's with the intention to close it. The company took time to assess the sales at Randall's before deciding to close it.

"No, it was not an automatic decision," Mackert said.

Coborn's Inc, based in St. Cloud, owns 14 Coborn's supermarkets, nine Cash Wise stores, three Randall Foods, 14 liquor stores and 20 pharmacies.

Mackert said Coborn's has no intention of selling the New Ulm Cash Wise store or changing its name.