After 36 years of serving Orangeville residents and visitors from throughout the world, Drew and Val LeRoy passed the torch to new owners on July 12.
Now in the driver’s seat are Clark and Julene Heringer, some of Orangeville’s newest residents, as they bought the store to send off the LeRoys to retirement.
Formerly of Pleasant Grove, the Heringers were well-known in boat sales and the trucking industry before making the dive into the grocery store business as they purchased Food Ranch.
“We are just looking for an opportunity to slow our lives down and be out of the rat race,” Clark said. “I haven’t been this stress free in years. It’s like heaven on earth.”
In the short time since the Heringers relocated, they have spent long days getting integrated not only in the grocery store, but in the community as a whole.
“All of the people that we’ve met down here so far are really great people,” said Clark. “I haven’t met anybody here that I didn’t like.”
The Heringers aim to continue serving Food Ranch’s customers in the way they know and love: Drew and Val’s way.
“When we got here we were told ‘You always make the donuts, you always do the meat the way Drew’s done it and you don’t mess with the produce.'” Clark said. “That’s what we are going to do.”
Customers can expect their favorites to be continued at Food Ranch, such as the Butterfinger donut and Drew’s secret meat seasoning. Clark is also becoming well-versed in the art of meat cutting through Drew’s training. Val is also assisting in the training, guiding the Heringers through the process of operating a grocery store. Once the Heringers are comfortable, the LeRoys will step away completely, allowing the new owners to grow and thrive.
“It’s a great store,” Clark said. “From what we have heard, it is a great value to the community and we want to keep it that way.”
While the Heringers aim to keep old favorites alive and maintain expectations, Clark said there is always room for growth.
“If people have suggestions, we would love to hear them so that we can look at them and see if there is something we can incorporate into the store,” Clark said. “We really want community involvement and we hope that the community can help us grow in the future.”
While there are no new firm plans on the horizon, the Heringers look forward to where Food Ranch will be in the upcoming years.
“We would just like to thank the support for Val and Drew over the past 36 years and we hope for their support over the next 36,” Clark said.
-
- Food Ranch’s new owners, Clark and Julene Heringer, are eagerly learning the grocery store ropes.
