Tom Zeckovich grew up down the street from the only grocery store in Wakefield, Michigan. When the store manager drove by and noticed how energetically 11-year-old Tom mowed his parents’ lawn, he offered Tom a part-time job. With a permission slip from school, Tom began his career in grocery management – a career that spanned 37 years and several stores.

Tom stayed in Wakefield, married his wife Kim, and together they started a family. The family-run grocery story down the street remained in operation, with a notable meat department, but its overall assortment had become limited and the original owner wished to exit the business. With Tom’s expertise in grocery store management and Kim’s experience in marketing and communications, the couple saw an opportunity to purchase the store and rejuvenate it as a full-service grocery store with differentiated offerings. There was just one catch: neither of them had ever purchased, much less run, a business before.

Kim saw a social media post featuring the success of Michigan SBDC client, Tritegrity Machine, and the couple decided to register for consulting. They were paired with Associate Regional Director Daniel Yoder, who helped them with a business valuation based on historical sales, revenue and tax data from the current owner. Once they agreed upon the sale price, Tom and Kim tackled finding funding. Daniel helped them formulate their business plan and provided counsel on a wide variety of topics, including purchase agreements, loan structure, operations, licensing, preparing for taxes, and more. Their local bank supported their plan and provided them funding to proceed. After all that, Z’s Hometown Market was open for business.

According to Tom, “Daniel’s an amazing partner – it’s almost as if he’s on our payroll. We are so grateful to him, and wouldn’t be where we are without his help. He was instrumental in helping us get an MTEC SmartZone Small Business Support Hub grant which we used for additional storage space.” That extra space allows the couple to purchase lower-cost palletized merchandise so that savings can be passed along to customers.

Z’s Hometown Market remains a family affair, employing the former owner as the meat manager and six more employees. In addition, the Zeckovich children are also participating by helping run the store. The grocery store is a way to give back to the community – the town in which Tom and Kim were born and raised.