Off to the Market We Go

Off to the Market We Go By Kayla Gahagan

How three women combined forces to run a business thatgives precedence to regionally produced food and products.

For the owners of The Market, business is about more than business. “We’re ambassadors,” said Danya Remboldt, one of four owners who operate the health food store in downtown Rapid City. “We live it.” That means talking, eating, promoting, encouraging and selling locally-sourced, clean products, food and body products that promote a healthy lifestyle.

“We’re talking about it, we’re at the softball game and bring fresh berries and people ask where they can get it,” she said. “The whole family lives it.”

In the back room of the store where coowners Danya Remboldt, Nina Hollenbeck and Hillary Khachikian meet on a recent morning, the women chat and trade tips... the avocado turkey melt at last night’s dinner was great but could have used an additional sauce...a nearby pizza shop has the best cauliflower crust pizza and the latest She’s Nuts butter sitting on their shelf is so, so good...

The store was started in 1996 by Hollenbeck and Christine & Gary McKinney with a small twist of fate. The three actually had planned to open a bagel shop. “We were headed to the bank and three other bagel shops opened at the time and three more were looking to open,” she said.

They scrapped the plan, thankful to havedodged a bullet.

Interested in natural foods and healthy living, they decided torewrite the business plan and opened the Main Street Market onMain Street in Rapid City.

“Everyone brings something different to the business,”Khachikian said. Hollenbeck agreed. “If I had done this on myown, I don’t think I would have hung in there,” she said.

“We never looked back,” Hollenbeck said.

The store stayed at the Main Street location until April 2011, when they relocated to the Tuscany Square Shopping Center. They rebranded the business in 2016, when they celebrated the store’s 20th anniversary.

The store has long been a success, but it hasn’t been all roses, the owners say. Hollenbeck remembers the first years. “We didn’t make money for years, seriously for years,” she said. “We were limited on knowledge and resources. So much of any business is surviving and hanging in there.” And that’s what they did, she said.

The Market slowly made 10 to 20 percent gains each year, though the owners were not paying themselves for the first two to three years. “Then, year 13 or 14, it was finally worth the opportunity costs,” she said.

Gary McKinney sold his shares to Khachikian in 2014 and passed away in 2015. Hollenbeck, who is now half-retired, was looking for the right person to sell her shares to and Remboldt fit the bill. She worked at the store for a year before buying in, just to make sure.

Supporting local businesses and individuals is an important tenant of their business. Customers can peruse the store and find locally-sourced produce, health and skin care products and food.

“It’s important to us to have local items because it’s so much better on the ecological footprint,” Hollenbeck said. “Things are fresh and we can talk to the people we’re buying from, especially if the customer has a question.” Besides that, it’s just better for your body and life, Khachikian said, an idea they will promote with vigor.

“It’s without chemicals and dyes, harmful preservatives and artificial sweeteners,” she said. “Research shows they can be linked to cancer and other diseases.”

The store has a general rule: if it’s not from the U.S., they try not to order it. “Why ship apples from New Zealand, even though they’re really good, if we can get good apples from Washington?” She said.

The best way to defend a healthy lifestyle is to continue to offer quality products and let the word spread, Hollenbeck said, especially when it comes to trends.

“It was the longest job interview ever,” she said, laughing. She purchased half of Hollenbeck’s shares this past January. The three women and Christian Seeley each own a quarter of the business and it’s a good mix, the women say.

“There’s always something really hot,” she said, whether it’s Atkins, Keto and gluten-free eating. “We figure our job is to make sure what we offer is quality. Our job is to make sure we help people do it right.” Khachikian agreed. “If you become the resource center for people, you will create loyal customers,” she said.

Want to try it out? The Market will host its annual cookout July 13. The store will provide a free meal, including gluten-free hot dog buns, chips and soda and buffalo hot dogs from local business Wild Idea from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. L to R: Hillary, Nina, Danya

The owners have a vision for the future. They desire growth, but slow and steady. “We would like to buy a building eventually,”Khachikian said. Remboldt sees that, too. But no matter where they are, she envisions The Market as a lifelong staple in the Black Hills. “I want to make sure that our legacy and our reputation is always there,” she said. BHW