July 26, 2023

Merlin Goebel intends to greet customers who walk into his Sunshine store in Hartford for years to come. On the other hand, his wife, Sherri, plans to cut back on what she calls the “heavy lifting” at the grocery store, focusing on accounting tasks and having more time to volunteer and enjoy activities like walks at Good Earth State Park.

Two of their grown children, who joined the family business 14 years ago, are poised to take over if their parents do fully retire. But neither Jared Goebel nor Casie Goebel wants that to happen any time soon.

“I get asked a lot what it’s like to work with my parents every single day, and I wouldn’t have it any other way, extremely lucky to have time with them that I do,” Jared Goebel said. “I’m not looking forward to either one being gone. They deserve it, but it will be a sad day for me.”

Sherri, Jared and Casie began working full time with Merlin in 2008, the year the U.S. Marine Bayliner boat manufacturing plan in Pipestone, Minnesota, announced it was closing. Before that, Sherri had worked weekdays at Bayliner, then spent her weekends with Merlin at the grocery store.

Now, the four Goebels are co-managers, with the younger two recently becoming minority owners in the family business.

“It isn’t on the letterhead, but I would consider us all co-managers,” Merlin Goebel said. “Every one of us can do anything that needs to be done in the store. Jared is the meat department manager and the store manager. Casie is the same way, in the bakery-deli as manager (with another employee). Sherri is still kind of produce manager, but we’ve hired another person to take over that spot. Sherri also does all the books, the check writing, the invoicing.”

For Merlin Goebel, this year marks his 49th in the retail grocery store business. He started in a store in Luverne, Minnesota, in 1974. In 1999, the Goebels moved to a grocery store in Flandreau, owned by Tony Bosch. Bosch gave him the opportunity to manage the store in Hartford, which had been built in 1995. In 2008, the Goebels bought out their partners.

The Goebel kids — the family includes Travis, who lives in Montana — all worked at the grocery store growing up. Jared Goebel’s daughter Hailey now works at the Sunshine in Hartford, making her the third generation.

The store had operated under the Jubilee name until its supplier went into bankruptcy. It switched warehouses to Affiliated Foods of Norfolk, Nebraska. The Sunshine name had been a familiar one in the Sioux Falls area. When the Bosch family purchased a chain of grocery stores that had operated as Sunshine, it was able to use that name again, Merlin Goebel said.

There are 17 independently owned Sunshine stores in South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa, most owned by the Bosch family as Luverne Supermarket Inc.

Sherri Goebel doesn’t regret the complexity of the years when she worked in Pipestone, then spent her weekends at the Hartford Sunshine.

“I love the people. You get to meet an awful lot of people. And being business owners is very nice. We can set our hours,” she said, then laughed.

“She’s teasing,” Merlin Goebel said. “We can set our hours if our employees allow us to. But I agree 100 percent with Sherri. The best part is the people we meet, our customers and the employees we have.”

Merlin and Sherri Goebel, married for 48 years, have cut back on their hours at the store in recent years, handing off responsibilities to their son and daughter. Cutting back means spending only two to three hours at Sunshine on weekends.

“Merlin does enjoy it,” his wife said. “I listen to him every morning greeting people walking through the door. I’m a little different. I volunteer at quite a few places, and I want to do more of that type of things and know for sure I can have a day off.”

They are fortunate, too, in having children who love the store as much as they do, Merlin Goebel said. Both Goebel children moved to Hartford in recent years, responding to their parents’ request that they live in the community that supports their business so strongly.

Living in Hartford reminds Jared Goebel of his growing-up years. He moved to Hartford in August 2020.

“Immediately, this felt like the right place to be,” he said. “It reminded me of living in Luverne growing up. The business community is fantastic at supporting each other.”

In addition to the bakery and deli, Casie Goebel also focuses on the floral and dairy department. In the decade-plus since she joined the family business, she has seen trends and tastes change and has adapted to those demands.

“People are a lot more health conscious now and looking for gluten-free options, or they like being able to cook healthier at home,” she said. “We offer more options like that. We like expanding the palates and trying new and interesting cuisines.”

About a year ago, she added fresh fried tortilla chips to the deli, and that has taken off, she said. People also appreciate the selection of grab-and-go meals, she said.

“With all the construction in Hartford, a lot of construction workers come in for meals,” Jared Goebel said. “They really like Casie’s meals.”

“I really like the idea of when people come in looking for something for a recipe, being able to help them and come up with new ideas,” Casie Goebel said. “I like interacting with people that way, finding what they need.”

The current Sunshine store covers about 12,000 square feet. Eventually, the family would like to expand, but that’s for the future.

“Now we’re just investing in the current building,” Jared Goebel said. “We’re utilizing the space we have.”

The Goebel family does not have a set-in-stone succession plan in place. The changeover is ongoing, Merlin Goebel said.

“We’re doing small steps to make that happen. I just turned 69 a couple weeks ago, so it’s time to step back a little in one way,” he said. “I’m comfortable to do that with Jared and Casie here.”

“I’ll do the books until the kids say get out of here,” Sherri Goebel joked.

“The kids” don’t expect to ever say that.

“What’s really great about working with family, you know they’re as invested in the business as you are,” Casie Goebel said. “I know 100 percent they’re all as in it as I am. We really rely on each other to get stuff done.”

Jared Goebel uses the lessons he learned from his parents daily.

“The biggest one is just plain hard work,” he said. “I’ve watched them since I was a kid work their butts off to provide for us. They have a good work ethic and are super personable people.”