Gale’s IGA: Hart’s hometown grocery store.

From left: Whitney Hintz, Jill Merten, Lindsey Merten, owner Susan Mull.

Gale’s IGA: Hart’s hometown grocery store.

By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief.

HART — In this day and age of large box stores, there’s something refreshing about a small town grocery store like Gale’s IGA at 710 S. State St. Owned by the same family for over 75 years, the store has seen its share of changes. To keep up with the changing times and changing market, General Manager Lindsey Merten has been overseeing freshening up the place.

“We started making improvements last fall with upgrades to the exterior of the building,” she says. “One of the biggest changes is the creation of our gathering space near the bakery and deli. We have placed tables and chairs here and its become a place for customers to come in and enjoy breakfast or lunch, or to just socialize.

“We have a group of ladies that meets here every Tuesday for lunch. We’ve been offering painting classes. We’ve even had a birthday party here,” Merten says. “Our customers say they like it a lot. They enjoy our deli with daily lunch specials, a salad bar, and our bakery, which features doughnuts made from scratch.”

Merten says one of the reasons Gale’s IGA has loyal customers is that the store doesn’t change its prices with the seasons.

“We are a hometown market and we do not believe its right to fluctuate our prices. This is why our customers keep coming back to us.  We also put an emphasis on buying produce, meat, and other goods from the local market, especially our farmers. We sell the local products at a fair market price.”

Merten has worked at Gale’s IGA for 18 years and she is one of several employees who has worked at the store long term. “It was my first job out of high school. It’s a great place to work and we are all proud of the service and quality we provide to our customers.”

Merten adds that the store also donates to several local non-profit organizations.

“We believe it’s important to serve the community by giving back,” she says.