Upgrades and updates offer superior quality and selection

By Barbie Porter

Editor

Frazee Family Foods might be a grocer in a small town, but they provide all the big city amenities and quality products to its customers, including online shopping.

Www.shopfamilyfoods.com provides everyone the opportunity to buy groceries and home care products online, or to help create a grocery list prior to coming to the store. The site even has a tab that provides customers with all the items on sale in the store.

Frazee Family Foods owner Heath Peterson explained the online ordering process: when one finds an item they want, click the add to cart button. One can increase the number of an item, and all the while the tally is kept next to the shopping cart icon at the top of the screen. 

When ready to check out, customers click the shopping cart where they can review all their items. If all looks as it should, clicking the “proceed to check out” button takes customers to the final options. The purchase can be made with a credit card on the website or paid curbside.  

Peterson said customers can have curbside pick up or delivery in city limits of Frazee. A time frame can be chosen for the pick up or delivery service as well. 

For example, if an order comes in at 8 a.m., a store employee is notified. The pick up time selected might be 10 a.m. The store employee would do the aisle shopping for the customer and collect the freezer or refrigerated items closer to the pick up time.

When the customer arrives, they call the store to let an employee know they have arrived. The food is delivered to the vehicle and payment accepted (if not already paid online).

For those who don’t feel comfortable using computers to shop, the staff will also continue to provide the option of calling with a list for them to collect from the shelves for their customer. Those items can be either brought out curbside or delivered as well, Peterson said. 

Frazee Family Foods is located at 120 East Main Avenue; 334-2131.

Serving the community is top priority

The grocery business seemingly runs in the blood of the Peterson family. While a child, Peterson may have dreamed about being a astronaut or big leaguer, like most kids. When he became old enough to work at his fathers store, the business began growing on him. He enjoyed serving his community and getting to know people with chats about life in the grocery aisles.

When he found the Frazee grocery store was up for sale, and the owners offered a fair price, Peterson decided it was time to build his own community-minded business, just like his father. In 2007 he purchased Frazee Family Foods. Since then, Peterson has continually provided his customers with additional convinces and improved the store.

“I’ve always liked the people here,” he said. “Since the first day I was here, I’ve felt at home.”

Renovations have included maintenance to the exterior, building a cart corral and entrance with automatic doors, as well as installing new coolers and freezers. The modern coolers keep produce fresh longer and the new freezers provided more space, which meant more selection. 

  The rural Frazee resident said he has noticed an increased amount of sales in both the freezer section and produce since installing the new freezers and coolers.