The Little Red Shed takes a trip.
When the plans were conceived for a new store at our St. John location a decision had to be made regarding the Little Red Shed. We knew we would build the new store on the current location which would require the little gal to be moved but where to? Did we convert her to storage and move the store back to the feedlot office? Did we close while the new store was being constructed? Or do we move her to a temporary location and continue on with business as usual? The latter was the other possibility that even remotely made sense so a plan was put in motion.
What Started As Freezers In The Basement.....
It's a little know fact that Golden Belt Beef, St. John has been in existence since our Overland Park store was established in the Summer of 2019. Where was it? Tucked away in the was just basement of Golden Belt Feeders Main Office! We knew from the beginning there was a need for quality, affordable beef here in Central Kansas just as there was in the KC metro area and we had hopes of eventually putting a store front in place to fill that need. But as will all great ideas, little things and baby steps needed to happen first. We wanted to make sure we had a good handle on our Overland Park store before we spread our wings to include a second location. So we took orders as needed and brought them out from Kansas City. We ran some great Ground Beef deals and stayed patient. When the opportunity presented itself to acquire a few more cutting spots with our processor, we decided the time was right to move forward with our location here in Stafford County.
Turned into a Little Red Shed
The first dilemma with opening a store front in Stafford County was where to do so at. Prime store front real estate out here in Central Kansas isn't available just anywhere! We needed a location that was close to the farm and our headquarters but also made sense for our customers to be able and willing shop at. If you've ever been down the main road to the Golden Belt Feeders Office, you know the road can sometimes be an adventure! Especially if Mother Nature has recently blessed us with moisture of any kind! This meant anything located at the office was out of the question! We knew we wanted visibility and just so happened to have an old cement pad nestled behind two big Oak trees at our pens located on Highway 281. An old farmstead once stood on the site which made it the perfect spot for our retail location in Central Kansas to come to life. A little dirt work was required plus a little more cement needed to be poured and we were ready for a building. As most of you know, in 2021 building materials were becoming hard to come by and if you could find them, the price tag was enough to make a person reconsider! We explored many options and opted for a pre-fabricated 12x20 shed to get us started. Little did we know in the span of 18 months, we would start to feel the constraints of the Little Red Shed and be looking to expand!
Putting Things In Motion, Literally!
After several months of planning, consulting and more planning, the final plans were drawn up and dates were set for construction. One small task still remained on the 'to-do' list which was moving the Little Red Shed! Thankfully, the maintenance crew at Golden Belt Feeders can fix just about anything and were called up to the plate to move the store! The move wasn't a very far one and the store isn't very large but how would they accomplish this task with us still being able to be open for business in just a few days? Would the Kansas Weather corporate? How hard would the wind blow?
It took some trial and error for sure! The sun was shining but the wind was blowing! One loader ended up working better than two.
Pulling worked for a while but pushing got them a little further.
Some welding needed to take place. ( I thought it best not to ask why!)
They had a curious on looker.
And in a matter of about 90 minutes, the Little Red Shed was safely sitting in her new location!
Now what?
The girls are working to get the store cleaned and re-stocked so we can open with our regular business hours on Wednesday, March 22nd. As for the new store, stay tuned to this blog, our social media pages and your email for updates and watch with us as the new store begins to take shape and come to life!