In the exhibit hall at an NGA Show in Las Vegas a few years ago, Jim Benedict saw a Southern Pride smoker and decided on the spot to buy one for his family’s store in Mountain View, Wyoming.
Others were intrigued by it; he was not only intrigued by it but moved decisively to make the purchase, seeing it as a vehicle to add some new items to the store’s deli menu and hopefully please customers. It did both.
“We got it home and got it going, and we literally have the smoker going every day,” said Benedict, who serves as president of Benedict’s Market in addition to being a cattle rancher in Uinta County in the far southwest corner of the state.
Customers can schedule their trips to Benedict’s to coincide with the smoked item of their choice, based on the day of the week.
“Mondays, we do a smoked meatloaf, which we make in-house. Tuesdays, we do brisket. Wednesdays, we do thick-cut pork chops on the smoker. And Thursdays, we do the burnt ends off the briskets that we did on Tuesday. And then Friday and Saturday we do ribs,” Benedict said.
A deli team member came up with the idea of smoking macaroni and cheese, so that’s become a unique side dish option.
Fried chicken is another popular deli item at Benedict’s. In a town that doesn’t have fast-food options, the store is where customer can grab a 10-piece box as the centerpiece of a picnic to take with them to the nearby Uinta mountains.
“We’re an artery to a big recreation area, so in the summer our traffic picks up unbelievably. We can go from 1,000 customers a day to 2,000 at the flip of a switch,” he said.
Nearby recreation sites include the Fossil Butte National Monument, The Fort Bridger Historical Site and Flaming Gorge Reservoir.
The deli, which offers seating for those who want to dine in, has carved out “a nice little niche in a community that does not have a McDonald’s and a Burger King on the corner,” he said. The deli serves a wide range of customers, including high school students at lunchtime and workers from nearby businesses on breaks and lunch hours.
Small beginnings
Jim Benedict’s grandfather, Harlan “Hal” Benedict, came to Mountain View to work for his uncle at his store, Ackerman’s, around 1932. He met his wife, Beulah, there in the Bridger Valley, and they purchased the little store – maybe 1,000 square feet – from his uncle in 1938 and renamed it Benedict Trading Company.
“He and my grandmother ran it, a really small mom-and-pop type deal,” Benedict said. “They had hopes and dreams of serving the residents of Bridger Valley.”
Over the years, the store underwent changes. In 1955, it expanded into the former Mountain View Hotel, which tripled space to more than 3,000 square feet. At that time, it was more of a general store than pure grocery store, he said.
“It had a little bit of everything in it. They had dairy cows and chickens [at home], and they would gather and sell the eggs,” said Benedict, adding that they chopped ice out of the river for ice blocks for the refrigeration.
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In the 1960s, the family built on to the store and rented the extra space to the Bureau of Reclamation while the Flaming Gorge Reservoir was under construction. When it was done, Benedict’s Market reabsorbed the space to add appliances, TVs, radios and hardware.
Benedict’s grandparents ran the store for many years at that location, primarily with the help of their son, Lowell, and his wife, Sharon, Benedict’s parents.
In 1979, they decided they wanted to build a new store – “a big undertaking for them,” Benedict said. The 10,000-square-foot store was built near Highway 414, just outside of Mountain View. Shortly after the new store was completed, his grandparents retired and his father took over. Sadly, his dad passed away at age 58, and the business was bought in 1986 by the third generation – Jim, Bruce (secretary and treasurer) and sister Kym, who is VP of the company in addition to working in the medical field.
At their father’s urging, Jim and Bruce Benedict had been working for Associated Food Stores in Utah to learn other aspects of the business, but they returned to Wyoming upon his death.
In 1999, they expanded the store again, adding space for True Value Hardware, video section, deli and bakery, and case-lot goods.
“You’re kind of the go-to for everybody’s needs,” Benedict said of the motivation to add those departments.
In 2020, the True Value portion of the store became grocery sales space once again when the Benedicts bought a separate building, formerly a Shopko, and opened Benedict’s Ace Hardware.
Today, Benedict’s Market is about 35,000 square feet and offers an expansive produce department, bakery, deli, a service meat counter – “everything that you’ll see in a metro area,” he said.
Along with the most recent remodel, a pharmacy was added at the front of the store, City Drug of Bridger Valley.
“Between the Ace and the grocery store, we have everything [customers need],” Benedict said.
Benedict’s Market is a member-owner of Associated Food Stores co-op and is supplied almost exclusively by AFS. At first, his grandfather had to buy from multiple sources, including meat and produce purveyors, “but then, when Associated started, we joined immediately and been there ever since.”
AFS was founded in 1940.
Service above and beyond
Eighty-six years and three generations later, Benedict’s Market is still focused on taking care of customers and serving the community.
Benedict recalled that when he and his brother took over running the store, if someone came in and asked, “can you get this?” they would find the company that supplied it and fill out an application to become a seller, “just to fulfill the needs of the customer.”
In their rural community – the nearest Walmart is 32 miles away – they’ve been called on for help at all hours. Once, they met a customer at the store at 2 a.m. who needed a part for a water heater.
“Our customer service is really what we’re known for, and our support of our community. We do a lot of giving back, which is very important because it forms that bond between us and our community, and they know that we’re invested in in them, as well as them investing in us,” he said.
Benedict’s heavily invests in two local school districts, offering scholarships and other types of support.
“Basically, we don’t say ‘no’ when it comes to doing that kind of stuff,” Benedict said. “We support the schools, all the kids’ programs and senior citizen centers – just everything in the community.”
Benedict said he’s enjoyed interacting with customers through the years, as well as providing jobs for about 100 people.
“That’s a big deal in a small community; there’s not a lot of opportunity in a small community for a bunch of jobs. It’s nice to be able to offer that, and just being part of the community is enjoyable – the engagement I get with the customers and that personal conversation. And our employees are engaged in that same way. They do the same thing. They have conversations at the checkstands and just provide that personal touch,” he said.
Benedict’s employs team members of all ages – teenagers up through senior citizens. Just recently, an 86-year-old checkout clerk retired. She was coming in a couple of days a week, oxygen machine in tow, and checking out customers for a couple of hours, Benedict said. She first came to work for the company 25 years earlier.
Some of the key managers at the store have been there 20 or more years as well, he said, adding that he is “very fortunate” to have them.
Benedict said he’s also thankful for the store’s customers.
“How fortunate I am to have loyal customers as well, because they have an option. But I think that that our involvement in the community and our support and just how we operate have helped us during this challenging time. They hang out with us and support us.”
To keep pace with chain grocers and big-box stores, Benedict has brought self-checkout into the store as well as a loyalty program, Benedict’s Market Rewards. Members can clip digital coupons and get freebies on their birthdays, among other perks. They also offer customers the option of online shopping through the Rosie platform.
“The second there is something new out there. I bring it to this little town,” he said. “I stay on top of the tech side of it, to make sure that what they see in town, they can see right here in their own hometown.
“We’re just happy to be here and serve our community and provide jobs and kind of be that heart of the area.”
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