By Genine Hopkins
As many smaller towns are losing their local grocery stores, Family Fare in Harrison just got a major facelift in renovations to the unit. Built in 2006, the store has not had a remodel since and was overdue. Now that C&S Wholesalers have purchased the Spartan-Nash stores, the leadership felt the Harrison store needed to reflect modern times. Voila! The new look is ready to go. A ribbon cutting was held on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, with the Grand Opening from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., and was a grand celebration.
For the first 100 customers to the newly designed store, there was a gift bag with swag and goodies from vendors. There was not a parking space to be found and it was a wonderful success as Harrison area residents took full advantage of the savings and specials that will continue through four weeks in celebration of the Grand Opening.
A family-owned business, C&S Wholesalers wanted to support the local stores that were in the Spartan-Nash district. District Manager Bill Arkwood is a Harrison resident, and he hopes that the partnership will create a sense of community.
As Ryan Speakes, the VP of corporate retail for C&S put it, “C&S is built on community. We wanted to elevate the experience of shoppers to the Harrison store and we are also doing the same facelift to several other stores in Michigan as well.”
C&S intends to increase local vendors and local items as well, supporting local businesses and farms. It was a who’s who of local dignitaries as well, with Harrison Community Schools Superintendent Judy Walton on hand, along with Harrison City Manager/Clerk Justin Cavanaugh, Harrison’s Mayor Dan Sullivan, and Harrison Area Chamber of Commerce Director LeeAnn Comer. Dozens of Store Directors and other big wigs from C&S were on hand to help with the numerous hors d’oeuvres and other finger foods. Representatives from Coca Cola, Monster, and others were also joining in the celebration.
Sarah McCone and Cheryl Sandstrom came from Lily Lake and were amazed at the wide aisles and openness of the store. Little Zain Ockert and mom Kristi Thomas, waited on Grandpa Jim Z. getting his face painted. They left the face painting area for table crafts for kids and were having loads of fun.
There are different sale items each week for the next four weeks and there is also a lot of savings if you want to try shopping online, saving up to $25 on orders of $150 (lesser savings for lower order amounts) for your first time shopping online. Come and visit the newly remodeled store and see what all the fuss is about!
