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Washington Evening Journal
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After much anticipation, Dutch Market opens for business
With a flashy red building and high-visibility spot, Dutch Market spent months waiting for its opening day, an excitement shared by many community members. Employees, delivery people, and this reporter were all approached by countless would-be customers, knocking on doors and pulling up alongside parked cars, asking when the store would open, eager to see inside after its initially announced springtime date.
It’s also a long time coming for owner Mervin Yoder. With several years working food retail under his belt in Pennsylvania, then Indiana, before his family’s move to Iowa. Initial plans to build the store were pushed back, when world events in 2020 slowed construction markets, and led moneylenders to advise against any new projects.
With the store opening at last on Aug. 17, Yoder said he was glad he chose to be patient, however frustrating the wait was at times.
“Sometimes waiting is a good thing for us,” he said. “It teaches us about life and it just helps to create wisdom in a person, if we’re forced to wait instead of fast-food, everything my way or the highway … I was at a few times at the point of, ‘Let’s just sell the lot and be done with it,’ but I had friends that told me no, don’t do that, this is your dream, push through on your dream.”
One of those biggest pushers was Yoder’s son, Kenneth. The young man was integral in getting the general store off the ground.
But in March, Kenneth passed away. The family devastated, and with the market about halfway to completion, they had to take a step back. Eventually, though, Yoder said his son was the inspiration to pick up the project where he’d left off.
“He was a young, very energetic boy. He was very talented, and he was an inspiration to me,” Yoder said. “So when I do this, I not only do it for myself or the community or for serving people, but I kind of do it because I know my son Kenneth wants me to do it. It’s kind of like somebody pats you on your shoulder and says, ‘Do it.’ It gives you a driver, a push, to continue.”
The store is now open as a combination general store and cafe. Yoder prides himself on the collection of homemade products, in-house bakery, and well-stocked deli, and said he was excited to see his daughters’ dream of opening a coffee shop realized as well.
To keep things affordable, Yoder said the stored mainly relied on wholesale purchases when suppliers needed to empty overstocked warehouses. The result is a low-cost assortment of products that can be unpredictable from one week to the next.
While the inconsistency would be out of place at most other grocers, Yoder said he saw it as a draw for shoppers.
“You might see a product today and buy it, and then not be able to get it again for a long time, or maybe never,” he said. “It keeps people coming in here searching, to see what’s new, what’s different.”
The method also keeps price points low, another priority for Dutch Market. Yoder said he viewed the store as an integral piece of the broader community, one that could help Washington residents more easily afford food.
“It’ll stretch your dollar, and it helps the lower class,” he said. “It’s exciting and rewarding to offer something for the struggling Americans in the community here. We all struggle with paying our bills, and so here, we can stretch your dollar and you can buy product that is still good product, but it’s discounted.”
Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com
