Harter House digs into Nixa market

In the spring of 2010, grocery shoppers in Nixa should have another place to pick up the ingredients for their meals.

A Harter House grocery store is under construction at 815 W. Kenneth St. with general contractor Missouri Supermarket Builders' scheduled completion date in April.

While Nixa is a new market for the regional grocery chain, the store will be Harter House's sixth location and the fourth store owned by Butch Bettlach and his family. Bettlach, his wife, Lisa, and sons Andrew, Bradley and Jacob own Harter House stores in Hollister, Strafford and Kimberling City.

Butch Bettlach said the family had been looking for another location for approximately eight months, primarily because both of the older sons are committed to staying in the family business.

Bettlach estimated the cost of the land and the building in Nixa at $2.5 million, and the loan is through Commerce Bank. Equipment costs may add another $1 million to the tab, he said.

The 25,000-square-foot Nixa store will compete against larger retailers such as Walmart and Price Cutter, but Bettlach said he isn't concerned about the store's ability to survive against tough competition. While he wouldn't disclose sales figures, Andrew Bettlach said that sales at each of his family's stores have increased slightly each year for the past five years.

"This business comes with a certain amount of stress, anxiety and hard work," Butch Bettlach said.

Bettlach said the store's meat operation will help set it apart from other area supermarkets. The meat counter, after all, is a foundational element of the chain.

Jerry and Barbara Bettlach founded Harter House in 1973, and developed it around the meat department. The original store, which has since relocated to East Republic Road, is still owned by Barbara Bettlach. Her daughter, Kathy Richards, and Kathy's husband, Randy, own the other Springfield location on Eastgate.

"Ultimately, it will be my grandfather's meat department, with on-hand meat cutters and quality meat guys who know what they're doing and can talk with the customers," said Andrew Bettlach, who will work in the meat department and oversee operations at the Nixa store when it's finished. "A lot of supermarkets don't have anyone in their meat departments."

The focus on meat was considered at the early stages of designing the Nixa store.

"Harter House is all about service meat. Their store is designed with that in mind, they're a service store," said Bill Ernst, store engineer for Associated Wholesale Grocers, which is the major supplier for Harter House.

Ernst consulted on the store's design and said the store was built to incorporate more room for staff to service the meat department.

Ernst also will help to supply the equipment, which includes shelves, freezers and carts to heating and air conditioning units, he said.

Alan Bates, president of Harter House project architect Bates & Associates, said a grocery store is one of the more complicated projects to design.

"All those refrigerated cases out in the middle of the store have drains, and refrigeration systems going to them and heat reclaim systems so we don't waste energy," Bates said. "There's really a lot going into a grocery store."[[In-content Ad]]