Three's Company: Reflections from Kris Kowalski Christiansen

Celebrating 40 years of Kowalski's Markets kind of astounds me. I've been thinking back to our very humble beginning: Grand Avenue, 1983. My dad was a District Manager for Red Owl, and my mom was on her way to beginning her peer counseling career. I myself was just a 16-year-old girl living the typical teenage life: school, sports, friends. I didn't think much about it when my folks sat me down to tell me of their new "endeavor." All I knew was that I was now a part-time cashier, and so were a whole lot of my friends!

Even though I didn't enter this business out of an innate love of the grocery game, I'm sure glad I did. I entered it simply out of love and respect for my mom and dad (two of the smartest, most honest and most dynamic people I've ever known), and I'm proud to carry on what they started. When I got that first cashiering gig, I thought the grocery business was pretty boring; but 40 years later, as CEO of my beloved parents' company, I can assuredly tell you: boring it is NOT! I am excited and inspired daily by this business and all the relationships that come with it: family, employees (stakeholders), friends, customers, vendors, communities … the list goes on and on.

I am also humbled and grateful to all the people who choose to shop with us – anyone who has ever come to our store, even once, and especially those who continue to come back again and again. I'm also so thankful to those who have chosen Kowalski's as a place to work, whether part-time, seasonally or, like me, for their lifelong career. I look forward to continuing this journey with all of you! Here's to 40 more!