Iroquois Grocery & Café thrives with community support

IROQUOIS — A store in Iroquois is getting some new life thanks in part to a donation from American Bank & Trust.
The community of 300 has been without a grocery store for around 18 months. This means people had to drive to towns such as Huron or De Smet for bread, milk, eggs and other staples.   
Robert Blue, long time resident of Iroquois, saw a need and took action. He held a town meeting to get feedback from the community on whether or not the store should be re-opened. The reply from attendees was a loud and clear yes.  
Many people stepped up to volunteer with clean-up of the inside and outside of the building.

American Bank & Trust also stepped up to the plate with a $10,000 donation to help ensure the success of the business for years to come.
“American Bank & Trust is proud to be part of the Iroquois community and excited to financially support efforts to establish the local grocery store for the convenience of the community,” said Doug Tribble, President and CEO of American Bank & Trust.  “Having a grocery store and restaurant nearby is something most of us take for granted.”
“This is a great example of what can happen when people band together to ensure fresh food is conveniently available close to home,” added Greg Bormann, Regional President with American Bank & Trust.
In addition, the opening of Iroquois Store & Café brings five new jobs.  The business will have one full-time employee and four part-time employees.  
American Bank & Trust focuses on being a strong, well-managed, growing, innovative community bank with high integrity and an excellent reputation.   
Locally owned and managed, the bank has branch locations in Wessington Springs, Alpena, Mellette, Miller, Wolsey, Huron, De Smet, Pierre, Sioux Falls, Stickney, Iroquois and Carthage.

COURTESY PHOTO
The newly reopened Iroquois Store & Café recently accepted a $10,000 donation from American Bank & Trust to help it continue to serve the community of about 300 people. From left, are Robert Blue, Linda Geyer, Doug Tribble, Greg Bormann, Brad Wienbar, Marilee Rounds, Diane Pedersen and Donna Koziolek.