Sprague grocer celebrates 50 years

Carl and Kay’s Fine Foods opened shop in 1974 as a third grocery store for Sprague and area residents. Now they’re the last one left.

Murray Machej owns the store, which was named after Murray’s parents. He and his wife Corinne run it with one full-time employee and three part-time workers.

Before Carl and Kay took over, the Main Street location went through a couple of rebrands, having originally started as the Town Hall. Carl and Kay had the last wedding before it closed to ultimately become what it is today.

Machej added that what the store sells has also changed a lot since he started out stocking coolers at 14. He never thought he’d one day be selling gluten-free or sugar-free alternatives, saying peoples’ preferences and needs have changed a lot since he started working.

Alcohol and chicken feed were more products he never thought the community would want from his store. But with competition from Steinbach, Winnipeg and Warroad, Minn., other stores were forced to close, leaving him and his wife to fill the small-town gaps.

Machej said his parents built two additions to the property, turning what used to be the old store into a modern storage space. But there used to be more, Fine Foods used to have a deli, with freshly cut sandwich meat to be eaten at the lake or for a walk around town. But with a flood in 2002, came the end of the store’s butchering career.

He said he moved back to the town after having been gone for a few years because of work and for the love of the community. But even though he likes it, it doesn’t mean there aren’t drawbacks to living two hours away from the provincial hub. One of them is that he doesn’t get everything shipped as fast as closer towns do.

He now has to haul his own dairy products, and still keep prices competitive for those who might otherwise drive to Steinbach once a week and buy groceries there.

He also doesn’t get Coca-Cola products and has to get them on his own, but Pepsi drives out to serve the town’s soft drinks needs.

“We’ve been very fortunate and grateful that these communities support a small business and do something local,” said Machej. “Most people want the big store experience, but that’s why we do our best to keep prices competitive as much as we can, but it’s not easy because it’s only so much as we can haul.”

“We appreciate that (the community) has supported our family and our family business over 50 years, so we could make a living and live here,” Machej said. “We also appreciate the tourists that travel year-round, we appreciate that people think high enough of us to want to come in and purchase whatever they need and support local.”

Machej said the store will do something to celebrate its 50th anniversary soon, but the passing of Kay a year ago and Carl a few months ago has kept them from planning an event.