Race Brothers Farm & Home Supply adding Monett store

The DeForest family bought a vacant restaurant/bowling alley/bar in December at 210 S. State Highway 37 in Monett for $825,000 from First State Bank. The DeForests plan to open the new store in September.

Springfield brothers Craig and Roger DeForest own the Monett store with their sister, Susan Olmstead, who lives in Arizona.

The purchase came with 8.6 acres and a lot of renovation work. The DeForests had to bring in 100 truckloads of gravel and pour new concrete to make the floors level. They’ve also installed all new heating, air and electrical systems during their $500,000 overhaul.

“We had to do a total demolition, pretty much,” Craig DeForest said. “The only thing that’s original when we’re done is the roof and three walls.”

Craig DeForest sees Monett as an untapped market for the company’s feed, outdoor power equipment, tools, clothing and other products.

“For a small town, it’s a thriving little town,” he said, noting the 8,000-person city boasts a Tyson Foods plant and headquarters for Jack Henry and EFCO Corp.

DeForest said they plan to draw customers from both southern Missouri and northern Arkansas.

Family farm

Craig and Roger DeForest, president and vice president, respectively, took the company reins 12 years ago when their father, Max DeForest, retired. DeForest bought the Springfield store, 2310 W. Kearney St., in 1971 from Lloyd and Orville Race. The Race brothers had opened the store a decade earlier at 2120 W. Kearney.

In 1974, Max DeForest opened a second location in Carthage, which carried the name Carthage Farm & Home until Craig and Roger DeForest took over.

The Springfield store also remained a franchise of Tractor Supply Co. until 1974, when it became a solely local endeavor and joined Kansas City-based Wheatbelt Inc., a 300-member co-op of farm and home supply stores. Craig DeForest is Wheatbelt’s current president, serving a two-year term.

Max DeForest helped open stores in Harrison and Rogers, Ark., but no longer has ownership in those stores.

Now, Race Brothers Farm & Home Supply has annual revenues of $17 million between its Springfield and Carthage locations.

Craig DeForest expects the Monett location to pull in about $4 million a year.[[In-content Ad]]