Bottom Dollar Cost Plus now IGA Foods

"Let's face it--it didn't work," said Bottom Dollar Foods owner Tom Schmutz Wednesday morning as the new IGA sign was raised to replace the "Cost Plus" sign on the front of Du Quoin's Southtowne grocery.

He was talking about the low prices with a 10 percent add-on at the checkout aisles--a concept that works well in the South-- that local shoppers could never get their arms around here in Du Quoin.

That all goes away as Bottom Dollar Cost Plus becomes Bottom Dollar IGA, a traditional grocery--with so much more. A new hot foods deli and fresh salads bar opened this week. There's a whole case of "take and bake" pizzas called Noble Roman's Pizza. Buy 'em fresh and bake them at home.

Then there's the new organic produce section where the produce is individually bagged (nothing touches something else).

And, finally, Bottom Dollar Foods has reached a licensing agreement for its new "Certified Angus Beef" area of the meat department.

It's a high energy, feel-good transition that the Du Quoin-area will embrace. It has taken an army of personnel to retag the store this week. More personnel have been hired. New signs have gone up everywhere.

The announcement came early Wednesday that Bottom Dollar Cost Plus Foods, located at 264 Southtowne Shopping Center, Du Quoin, IL and 1501 S. Park Ave., Herrin, IL is becoming Bottom Dollar IGA Foods. According to owner Tom Schmutz, the store will remain open without interruption during the conversion. The stores will host a grand re-opening from August 30 through September 12.

Tom Schmutz says joining IGA's alliance of independent grocery retailers with nearly 5,500 stores around the world will enable him to better serve the Southern Illinois community. He maintains being IGA will give him the opportunity to provide customers with a broader selection that includes IGA's extensive line of private label products, better service from the store's IGA training-certified employees, and a renewed community-focus through participation in IGA's community events.

"With IGA, we can give Southern Illinois the best of both worlds-the kind of friendly, responsive service you get from a store locally owned by people you know and trust in the community-and the assurance of quality programs and services only a globally-recognized brand can deliver," Schmutz says. "No matter where you go in the world, people recognize the IGA logo and equate it with hometown community pride. That's what Bottom Dollar has always been about-now we have the opportunity to be that and so much more. We look forward to introducing Southern Illinois to all the products and services that come along with the IGA Brand."

IGA is the world's largest voluntary supermarket network with aggregate worldwide retail sales of more than $29 billion per year. The Alliance includes nearly 5,000 Hometown Proud Supermarkets worldwide, supported by 36 distribution centers and more than 55 major manufacturers, vendors and suppliers encompassing everything from grocery to equipment items. IGA has operations in 46 of the United States and more than 40 countries, commonwealths and territories.

Schmutz provided a meaningful tour Wednesday to show us what Du Quoin shoppers can expect.

You start at the deli. All of the hot food bar that Krogers had has been uncovered and renovated. New sections have been added. A large deli staff is in the kitchen preparing piping hot chicken, chicken strips, mashed potatoes and other sides, fresh salads and fresh Noble Roman pizzas.

Nearby, the rotisserie will serve up barbecued chicken, spare ribs and pork steaks. You an take the great food home or shopping center employees can grab a great lunch or dinner and eat out on picnic tables to be placed outside.

Head for the meat department and you will see meat manager James Koczorowski putting fresh meats into the new "Certified Angus Beef" section of the meat department.

Since the 10 percent add-0n at checkout is gone, the popular "6 for $26" value program has changed to "5 for $25" (but, again, there is no 10 percent added at check-out."

The IGA name shows up on products here and there throughout the store. More products and ore variety. You wind up in the produce section and fresh, new produce is coming in daily. The organic produce section is filling up.

And, finally when you've said "goodbye" to owner Schmutz at the front door, there's the sign company changing the sign on the front of the store.

Ahhh, life is good.

We make a habit of saying this all the time. Du Quoin people need to support shopping in Du Quoin. "Remember how you felt when Krogers closed."