by Frank Lee
Pine’s Edge Grocery and Liquor sits along Hwy. 10 in Benton County between the larger cities of St. Cloud and Little Falls.
Operations Manager Alex Gummow said he believes because of its high-profile location, the Rice-based business will do brisk business on Thanksgiving Day.
“We’re located right next to Rockwood Estates, the mobile-home park, and that’s our regular customer base,” he said. “They come in quite frequently throughout the day.”
The gas station and liquor store sell bait, groceries and other convenience-store items, such as sandwiches and pizza.
“But we run a few promotions going on, like with fuel and stuff . . . We’re trying to push that stuff for the holiday season, so people will come back after Thanksgiving,” he said.
AAA Travel forecasts 46.9 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more from home during the Thanksgiving holiday, an increase compared to the 46.6 million people who traveled last year and the most since 2007.
“We put different specials out on Facebook to try and get people to come in that wouldn’t necessarily. And we’re rolling out a loyalty program for customers,” Gummow said.
Pine’s Edge Grocery and Liquor does not sell frozen turkeys for Thanksgiving, but anything else you can imagine you can probably find in its aisles, Gummow said.
“We have pies and all of the fixings for dessert . . . and stuff like salad dressing, gravy mix, flour, Cool Whip, sugar. And we have the alcohol for the people who can’t put up with their relatives . . . to help them get along a little better for a while,” he said with a chuckle.
Pine’s Edge Grocery and Liquor will be open Thanksgiving Day from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“We close early so the employees can spend time with their families,” Gummow said. “We feel that’s pretty important. Not very many businesses will close nowadays with Black Friday and all that, but we’re opening at 7 a.m. and closing at 10 p.m. that Friday.”
With 300,000 additional holiday travelers, this marks the seventh consecutive year of growth for Thanksgiving travel, according to AAA Travel. The Thanksgiving holiday travel period is defined as the Wednesday prior to the Sunday after Thanksgiving, which this year is Nov. 25-29.
“Lower (gas) prices are helping boost disposable income, and enabling families to kick off the holiday season with a Thanksgiving getaway,” said Marshall Doney, AAA president and CEO, in a statement about the popular holiday where friends and family get together.
Gas prices remain well below 2014 levels, providing an early holiday bonus to the more than 89 percent of holiday travelers who will drive to their destinations, according to AAA Travel.
“We have random snacks in case you know you want to eat something along the way to Thanksgiving,” said Gummow, “because you are not sure what you are going to get when you get there.”
Alex Gummow of Pine’s Edge Grocery and Liquor said he believes the Rice-based convenience store’s stock of alcoholic beverages will make the Thanksgiving holiday easier for some large family gatherings.
Operations Manager Alex Gummow of Pine’s Edge Grocery and Liquor along Hwy. 10 in Rice checks the store shelves for the necessities that make a Thanksgiving Day meal.
