Is renovation of County Market store in Mattoon example of what could be coming to 48th and Broadway?

EDITOR’S NOTE: Niemann Foods, Inc. announced Tuesday it is redeveloping its store at 48th and Broadway. However, store officials said they are keeping the plans of what the final project will be under wraps for now. “Niemann’s is very excited to bring this concept to their hometown of Quincy,” Gerry Kettler, NFI Director of Consumer Affairs, said in a press release.

Niemann Foods completed in March a $3 million renovation at the former County Market store in Mattoon. Could this be a foreshadowing of what is coming to Quincy? (Thanks to Rob Stroud of the Journal-Gazette and Times-Courier for giving us permission to publish his story and photos from March 23.)

MATTOON — County Market parent company Niemann Foods Inc. has more than 130 stores in five states, but only one of those locations is called Niemanns.

That distinction was given to the former County Market store at 2000 Western Ave. in Mattoon after a six-month, $3 million renovation that included an expansion of the prepared food items available in its deli. Company Chairman and CEO Rich Niemann visited the Mattoon store on March 23 to help local officials celebrate the remodeling and rebranding.

Niemann said afterwards that once the company makes sure what it is doing in Mattoon can be done at County Markets elsewhere, it may eventually take the Niemanns store name and concept to other locations.

“This is foundational, what we are doing here,” Niemann said.

Walker’s Super Foods constructed the building at 2000 Western at the west end of downtown Mattoon in 1999 after its previous grocery store was destroyed by a fire. Niemann Foods bought the store in 2001 and began operating it as a County Market.

The recent renovation is the biggest change to the store’s interior since its early years. Niemann Foods also has added a new dining area to the deli, fresh made flavored popcorn to the bakery, more seafood to the fresh meat case, more coolers and freezer cases to the central sales floor, a tasting counter to the liquor department and self-checkout lanes to the front sales registers.

“It’s a beautiful facility. It looks great,” Mattoon Chamber of Commerce Director Ed Dowd said during the ribbon cutting.

Niemann said the Mattoon store had needed such a renovation project for a long time and the community deserved it, so the location was a “logical choice” for first introducing the Niemanns store name and concept.

“I can tell you that from the family’s standpoint, we are very proud. This is the first store we have had our name on,” Niemann said.

During the ribbon cutting, Niemann noted the expanded selection of prepared food at the store also includes sushi and smoked meat. A Niemanns employee later handed out samples of hot corned beef brisket prepared in the store’s smoker trailer.

“We want folks to be able to eat here or take it home,” Niemann said of the prepared food. “We are doing to do a lot of the work for you.”

Niemann also noted afterwards that the Mattoon store’s meat case is the only place, other that the company’s Harvest Market in Champaign, where customers can purchase single source ground, growth hormone free Niemann Ranch Beef. He and his sons, Richie and Brad, own and operate a 1,500-acre ranch with 700 head of cattle in northeast Missouri.