In the old days, when small towns were miles from each other, the general store was often a lifeline. It was the one place you could go to find just about everything—from groceries and hardware to community news. These days, true general stores are a rare find. But in Veblen, SD, Grobe’s Grocery and Hardware is keeping that tradition alive. Located right on the town’s main highway, the store still offers a little bit of everything and remains a vital part of the community. Now under new ownership, Grobe’s continues its legacy of family traditions and hometown service.
Grobe’s Grocery has been a cornerstone of Veblen for nearly 40 years. In 1986, Norm Grobe—originally from just across the border in North Dakota—purchased Nelson’s Grocery Store from longtime owner Gordon Nelson. At the time, Norm was working as the groundskeeper at Valley View Golf Course in Sisseton, a job that didn’t extend into the winter months. When the opportunity to buy the store came along, it was a chance to create year-round work and a future for his family.
Norm and his wife Carol ran the store together. Interestingly, Carol came from a grocery background herself. Her family, the Braatens, had taken over Drabek’s Grocery Store in Hillhead in the 1960s. After spending several years in St. Paul, MN, the Grobes were happy to return to the area and saw the store as the perfect way to reestablish roots in their hometown region. The timing felt right, and they dove in with enthusiasm.
The original Grobe’s Grocery Store was located on Veblen’s Main Street and operated as a full-service business. “We had everything,” Norm recalled. “We even cut our own meat.”
In 2004, the Grobes entered a new chapter. Just down the street on Highway 25 sat the Cenex gas station and hardware store.
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