jack's iga—
taking the fresh approach in energy efficient construction
April 2010
 Jack and Fonda Gross are the owners and operators of Jack’s IGA, a full-service grocery store in Lee County, Kentucky. With 25 employees, Jack’s IGA is a major employer in the community and one of only two grocery stores in the area.
The Grosses got their start in the food industry in 1975, when they opened a fruit and meat processing shop. Within a few years they moved the business into a building large enough to add groceries. Over the past three decades, Jack and Fonda expanded Jack’s IGA until it became a million-dollar business.
But disaster struck in August 2009. The Grosses lost everything in a fire that gutted a busy block of Main Street in Beattyville, including Jack’s IGA, a department store and the office of a weekly newspaper.
Undeterred, the Grosses resolved not only to rebuild Jack’s IGA, but to improve it. They are using their insurance benefit to rebuild on the same location, add 1,000 square feet and a deli, and expand production capabilities — all while reducing overhead costs through increased energy efficiency.
In January 2010 MACED extended a loan of $400,000 to finance the purchase of an energy efficient refrigeration system. Says Jack, “We’ve got to reduce costs to stay competitive in the future. Our energy savings from this refrigeration system will significantly reduce our overall operating expenses — and that’s a big deal in the grocery business.”
He continues, “When I first started with this (rebuilding), I didn’t realize the advantage of energy efficiency or know about grant money to help pay for things. (Loan Officer) Regina Becknell was really good at explaining things like that.” MACED is helping the Grosses complete an application to the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Enterprise for America Program (REAP). If awarded, the REAP grant would pay 25 percent of the cost of the equipment, significantly decreasing the size of the loan.
Construction of the new building began in November 2009, and the grand re-opening is scheduled for May 2010.
“This is just a great opportunity that lots of people I’ve talked to in the industry are interested in,” says Jack. “Most grocery stores in the area are older buildings that are really inefficient. Getting money for independent grocers to help them remodel and implement energy efficiency measures offers so many ways to save money! Increasing energy efficiency is a big opportunity and a great need for us to improve our bottom line.”
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