In 1946, Ray and Mildred Cheese opened Cheese's Food Center.

In 1959, Ray and Mildred became one of the first grocers in Southwest Iowa to move off of Main Street and into a new supermarket with off-street parking.

In 1960 the First Annual Smorgasbord was held.

In 1971, Mike Cheese graduated from college and joined the family business.

In 1978, Mike and Kay Cheese purchased business from Ray and Mildred Cheese.

Cheese's celebrated their 50th anniversary in 1996.

Cheese's has gone thru extensive remodels, both inside and out and has completed it's most recent remodel in 2009.

Our employees are dedicated to top-notch customer service and we strive to continue to provide a clean, well-equipped supermarket with competitive prices.

Cheese's Food Center is a member of Affiliated Foods Midwest. This cooperative allows members such as Cheese's to purchase products at lower prices in the never-ending effort to pass real savings along to customers.

New face, same location for 50 years
By Becky Synacek-Gee
Creston News Advertiser

LENOX - In celebration of their 50 years in the same location, Cheese's Food Center in Lenox has a new look.

Owner Mike Cheese said the store has been recently updated.

We have been preparing for months, he said. We have been running movement reports to see what is not selling, discontinuing and reducing the prices on slow sellers, bringing in new items that are selling in other stores, drawing up plans for a new store layout, ordering shelves and equipment and painting the interior of the store.

Recently four representatives from Affiliated Foods Midwest, the store's main supplier, spent four days working in the store setting up new shelving in the grocery, meat, produce and general merchandise sections of the store.

The main goal, according to Cheese, is to increase sales.

This is a very difficult thing to do in today's economy, he said. Things we are trying to accomplish include, improving the store's appearance in general, making the store easier to shop, making the store brighter, making more room for displays and making more room for merchandise the customers' want."

Not bad for a store that has been in existence for more 100 years.

Cheese and his wife Kay are the fourth generation to own and run the business, which was started by G.F. Cheese in 1895.

Mike Cheese has worked in the store since he was a child. Over the years, he has seen many changes.

It used to be our competition was more stores like ours, he said. Now the stores are a lot bigger and places like Wal Mart have gotten into the business, which makes it more difficult.

"The hardest has been the changes in our rural economy. We don't have as many small farmers out there anymore to come to Lenox to trade. Because of that, Lenox has lost a lot of its key businesses over the years. We still have a viable business community in Lenox. We just don't have car dealers or entertainment. It's hard to attract people to Lenox and then buy their groceries while they are here.

Another thing that has changed is the amount of refrigeration needed.

A lot more things need to be refrigerated now so it takes a lot more energy, Cheese said.

But some things haven't changed.

We still cut our own meat, Cheese said. We don't buy much prepackaged meat. We still get it all in and cut it ourselves, except for lunch meats and things like that. We can do custom cuts if people want.

One thing in demand the past few years is special meat cuts, especially favored by Hispanics.

We have a pretty large Hispanic trade, so we try to have the meat cuts that they want, Cheese said. We also have a large authentic Mexican section. We have a company from Chicago that supplies us with products people are used to seeing in Mexico and in the south.

Cheese said he still has some more remodeling left to do including painting the exterior of the store, improving the look of the candy and pop displays in the front of the store, and more energy efficient lighting and refrigeration units.

But, Cheese said, he doesn't see the store closing anytime soon.

We greatly appreciate the loyalty of our customers, he said. We have been able to operate a profitable grocery store for many years because of their business. We feel very fortunate as many small town Iowa grocers have not been able to stay in business.

"With the continued support of our customers, we hope that Lenox will have a full time small supermarket for years to come.

Lenox was established in 1872 and is located in Southwest Iowa, in Taylor County, with a population of 1,400 plus.

With its friendly atmosphere, safe environment and shining hospitality, Lenox is a great place to live, work, play, worship and raise a family.