Kiger's Notebook

Walgreens firming up fast

The new south Rochester Walgreens store with additional commercial space is shaping up fast across from the Olmsted County Fairgrounds.

Went by there today and was impressed by the amount of activity cooking along under the humid sky.

Here's a quick snap of this morning's construction.

Now the question is when will demolition and construction of the Civic Center Drive store on the International Buffet space begin?

Last day for Lewiston grocery

Here's some from a good piece by my colleague John Weiss about the last day of Lewiston's only grocery store. Find the full story here.

Nearly all the 24 Malt-O-Meal bins were empty, refrigerated dairy cases had but a few gallons of milk, many shelves of Wiens Food Center were bare Friday.

At 6 p.m. Saturday, the only grocery store in Lewiston will close. Scott Wiens, who owns it with his wife LouAnn, said he can’t get enough business with the store its present size and can’t afford to expand to compete with bigger stores nearby. 

Any remaining food will be sold to Mike’s, another independent grocery store, in St. Charles.

It means people will have to drive at least 12 miles or more for most of their groceries.

But three people at the store Friday said the closing means more than extra driving time. It means a harder time to raise money for FFA, fewer jobs and a harder time for Vickie Luehmann to bake Christmas cookies.

For Natalie Schumann, the closing means she will have more time on her hands this summer. She will be a senior at Lewiston-Altura High School next year and planned to work at Wiens again this summer. 

Vickie Luehmann said she began shopping there since it opened 18 years ago. “Certainly it’s a loss to our community,” she said. “Scott really bent over backwards to get things.”

The Mark of Z in S.W. Roch.

Here's a tidbit to keep an eye on:

• This week’s buzz is heavy on the Zzzzs.

Look for a flavorful local business to make its mark on southwest Rochester soon, just like a masked hero with a sword.

And to add to this recipe the opportunity for bringing back spice and vitality to a spot previously known as being green. That was before it blackened and withered away.

Change coming to Lewiston?

The buzz is that change is on the way for a business in Lewiston.

I'm checking this out, but it could be nothing. Or it could be something.

I guess we'll find out.