Village Market caters to customers

By Laura Hipshire
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

How many stores do you know of that will sell you just one or two eggs, rather than the whole dozen, if that’s what you need? The community members and staff at Henry Ford Village know of a place like that, and it’s only a few steps away – it’s called the Village Market. Store manager Kathy Fraley has been working at the market for the past 13 years, and knows what her customers want.

“We average about 130 customers every day,” says Kathy. She says some of the market’s best sellers include Pepperidge Farms, Anna’s and Walker’s cookies, milk, juice, and eggs. “We will sell just two eggs if that’s what the customer wants,” says Kathy. Now that’s service!

Let’s take a look in the Market…
Freshly popped popcorn can easily be detected as customers make their way into the store – the yummy, buttery scent permeates the air to the delight of customers. Besides being able to choose from a wide variety of groceries at the Market, shoppers also take advantage of their vast array of gift items such as jewelry, scarves, musical bears, angels, stained glass items, and greeting cards.

“We also offer specialty items such as low sodium soups, sugar-free candy, jellies, and cookies,” says Kathy. No-salt potato chips, soy chips, soy nuts, Wasa grain crackers, wheat bran, and wheat germ can also be found on the market’s shelves.

“We just recently started baking fresh Otis Spunkmeyer cookies to sell,” says Kathy. “Also, we have From the Chef’s Kitchen cookbooks. These cookbooks feature recipes from Erickson chefs throughout the country.”

Going the extra mile
Kathy takes pride in meeting customers’ needs. “I order the soy milk for people,” says Kathy. “If a customer needs three-way bulbs which I cannot get from my vendors, I will go out of the market and bring them in. I also go out to get stamps.”