Submitted photo: Kelly and Billy Bolt (left and center) were awarded the 2025 Project of the Year from Southwest Regional Development Planner Nadya Bucklin (right) this month.

LAKE BENTON — Bill and Kelly Bolt’s Lake Benton Grocery Store has been awarded the 2025 Project of the Year from the Southwest Regional Development Planner (SRDC), completing HVAC upgrades, energy-efficient refrigeration shades and more.

“They (SRDC) helped us navigate the grants system and the funding system … They are a vital partner in helping us accomplish our goal, which is running business,” Bill said. “Over the last year, they have helped us obtain either loans and or grants to replace a furnace, an air conditioning unit, put in energy-saving shades, upgrade a compressor, and then the big one is obtain a USDA grant to replace the milk and meat display cases.”

Bill and Kelly have been running the grocery store for just over five years now, and have enjoyed the process of becoming a community resource.

“We took over March 3 of 2020, and (the) COVID (pandemic) hit three days later … It has been very rewarding, but as with most things, the reward is pretty much proportional to the challenge,” Bill said. “Our motto and our focus is that people can buy groceries anywhere, but they can’t get the customer service that we provide anywhere else.”

Bill noted the store takes great pride in creating local jobs, mentioning they currently have 21 employees ranging from 14 years old to 70 and over.

“A lot of kids get their start in their start with us, so we do a lot of mentoring. We do a lot of growth,” Bill said.

The SRDC serves nine counties across southwest Minnesota with the partnership of local businesses and regional investment by offering services in finance, infrastructure, energy and more.

“I would encourage every business to reach out to this organization or to a like-organization in their area and ask them what is available to help … These people are an expert in helping small businesses survive and thrive,” Bill said. “I can honestly say that if it wasn’t for the type of help that I’ve received from this organization … I’m not sure whether I’d be open today.”

“The timeliness, we feel, it’s very blessing from the Lord in that these things came up when we needed them,” Bill added. “We struggle with older equipment. We’re trying to keep things surviving and keep things going. If you lose a compressor or you lose some equipment, you could lose product, you could lose days of operation. And, repair of these things can be tens of thousands of dollars.”

As smaller grocery stores remain vital to smaller communities, Bill said he and Kelly continue to feel the support as they navigate the business.

“Owning one of these stores is really a labor of love … Lake Benton and the surrounding areas are very supportive of our store and very thankful for us being here,” Bill said. “I never understood or fully appreciated what it takes to put a can of beans on a shelf for someone to buy until I got into the grocery business.”

Although becoming owners in 2020, it wasn’t until recently when Bill got the opportunity to become more involved with the store after he retired as Minneota’s police chief in January of this year.

“People have asked me, ‘How has retirement been?’ I am busier now than I was as a police chief. I thought I would be riding motorcycle, fishing every day and taking naps, and I am finding that I am much busier than I had ever been before,” Bill said, laughing. “Which is humbling, because my wife had been doing this alone.”

Specifically, Bill credited Kelly for her extreme loyalness to continue running the store the last few years while he was on duty.

“My wife is the primary driver of the store, and she’s doing (like) 10-hour days, six or seven days a week … She is a rock star in her dedication to the community and to the store,” Bill said. “It’s been a good transition, and we just feel very fortunate to be able to partner with this organization (SRDC), because they help us keep going. They help us help our community.”