Summit Discount Groceries
People
Shopkeeping started out as a hobby for Ada Yoder, but the combination of discount groceries and Amish customer service brought in more business than expected. So after four years of booming sales from a converted mobile home, Ada and husband Mervin decided to expand. They found the perfect location – a former church built in 1846 – and a bank willing to lend most of the renovation costs. But they were still $75,000 short.
Progress
Luckily the Yoders’ banker, Lee Newell of First National Bank, knew whom to call. The Progress Fund quickly reviewed the business plan and agreed to lend the remaining $75,000.
Impact
Summit Discount Groceries continues to offer inexpensive, high-quality foods. The Yoders have added an Amish crafts section with dolls, grandfather clocks, paintings, rocking chairs and children’s toys – “Unique stuff you can’t buy at Wal-Mart,” says Ada. The renovated church, with its original beams and trusses exposed, is the area’s newest tourist draw. What was once a hobby has become an economic workhorse.
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