Following a summer of uncertainty, Woonsocket area residents can breathe a sigh of relief that a grocery store is coming back to town.
The sale of the Darin’s Market building and business was finalized Friday and the loan through the City of Woonsocket was paid in full. Darin’s closed its doors this past June after 15 years in business.
Dakotaland Federal Credit Union, which has maintained an office inside Darin’s Market for the past 10 years, purchased the property.
“It was a good transaction,” said Dan Cumbee, President and CEO of Dakotaland. “It was an easy decision to invest in Woonsocket when we were presented with the opportunity.”
Bruce and Kandy Schmiedt of Woonsocket purchased the grocery store business and will lease the space from Dakotaland.
Bruce and Kandy are excited about the new venture and say they are working with Dakotaland to make improvements and some changes to the space. “Anything that improves this town is a good investment,” said Kandy.
Darin Schmiedt and his wife, Anne, rebuilt and relocated the business to the east end of Woonsocket following a spring 2003 fire, which decimated the old grocery building on main street.
After announcing plans to rebuild later that summer, Schmiedt Enterprises (Darin and Anne Schmiedt) obtained an Economic Development revolving loan fund through Santel Communications with the City of Woonsocket acting as a guarantor and the first lien holder on the mortgage and assets.
“The debt has been paid in full and the loan has been satisfied,” said Woonsocket Mayor Lindy Peterson.
Tara Weber, City Finance Officer, reported that a check was received for the full payoff of the loan, plus some interest accrued while details of the sale were being finalized. The payoff amount was $352,666.67 and the check received on the sale was for $355,793.08.
Peterson feels positive about the future of the town, and wishes the best of luck to the new owners. “It’s nice to have a grocery store coming back,” he says.
Former owner Darin Schmiedt is happy about the sale as well, and he thanks everyone for their business over the past 15 years. “I wish Bruce and Kandy the best. I hope everything works out well for them,” he said.
Darin also operates a local construction business. He and his wife have plans to stay in Woonsocket where they are raising their three children.
Bruce and Kandy Schmiedt, also owners of Express Stop and Express 2 both in Woonsocket, are targeting Oct. 1 for the opening date.
Jody Schmiedt, Bruce and Kandy’s daughter-in-law, will manage the store and they are all working long hours getting the store prepared to reopen. They plan to make a few changes and move things around a bit, but will continue to offer a wide variety of groceries, beer and liquor.
Dakotaland Federal Credit Union is also planning on making some changes. Cumbee says they plan to expand by adding another office and a drive-up lane sometime in the next year or two.
“We realize the news has been disheartening for Woonsocket lately, however we’re very confident the news going forward will be very positive,” he said. “We’ve always had a great relationship with Woonsocket and we’re glad Dakotaland can be part of the good news going forward!”
Cumbee says the Woonsocket employees will remain the same, with Lisa Snedeker as branch manager and Coila Hinker and Cheyann Forman as employees. Dakotaland currently has about 800 local members with over $10 million in member deposits.
Dakotaland is based out of Huron and serves nearly 25,000 members with branches in Woonsocket, Huron, Madison, Brookings, Volga, DeSmet, Redfield and, at the end of December, in Mitchell.
The City of Woonsocket expresses their thanks to Darin and Anne Schmiedt for their dedication to the community and also wish the new owners success as they begin this new adventure.