Minier’s has a long, rich history, stretching back to the 1870s when Henry Minier opened a general store in Big Flats, New York, in the state’s Southern Tier. That store was about half a mile from where Minier’s full-service supermarket sits today at 84 Canal St.
The family-owned store, known as Minier’s Neighborhood Meat Store & More, is led by fifth-generation President Paul Minier. It blends traditional service departments such as meat and modern elements like restaurant-style foods to go – all in a refreshed space – in a bid to continue pleasing a broad range of shoppers.
In this interview with The Griffin Report Senior Content Creator Lorrie Griffith, Paul Minier talks about the past, the present and the challenges of staying relevant in the future.
Minier’s has been in business for more than 150 years … wow! Can you briefly walk me through your family’s history with the store and how the store has changed over the years?
We certainly are blessed to have been serving our community since 1873. Our family was the first settlers in our town of Big Flats, New York, and has never left. My great-great grandfather, Henry Minier, opened the original store a half a mile down the road, and it was more of a general store.
Then in 1959, my grandfather, Samuel Minier, and his brother, Henry Minier, built a modern supermarket at our current location. My father, Russell Minier, remodeled the store in 1989, while at the same time turning the location into the shopping plaza it is today, Minier’s Plaza.
Our latest remodel was finished last year, 2024, which included new meat cases, produce cases, frozen cases, flooring and paint throughout.
Please describe the store experience at Minier’s.
Minier’s is a full-service grocery store with a retail footprint of about 24,000 square feet. We are a customer-focused neighborhood grocery store with an emphasis on fresh foods, including our meat, produce, deli and prepared foods departments. The remodel last year gave us a nice modern feel that one customer coined the “Pottery Barn” of grocery stores.
What items/departments would you say your store is best known for? I’m guessing meat, with the “Neighborhood Meat Store & More” tag. Tell me about your meat department – how do you maintain your reputation in the department, do you have local suppliers, trained butchers, etc.? What about your other fresh departments?
Our meat department is a standout in the community. In the ’90s, my father came up with the idea of “Meat Bonanzas” that drove heavy volume through the meat department and established Minier’s as a fresh meat destination in the surrounding communities. 
This reputation is carried forward now by two journeymen meat-cutters, each with 30-plus years of experience. Meat is still all cut and packaged in-house, giving the opportunity to carry cuts of meat our competition can’t. The ground beef is made fresh daily, as is our own sausage made with fresh trim.
The deli/bakery is also a standout, featuring delicious homemade salads, baked fresh cookies, rolls and Italian breads. The first department you see when you walk in is Minier’s Kitchen, where we make everything from entrees to desserts from scratch and sell them to-go. Our signature items in the kitchen include a strawberry salad, mac n’ cheese, meatloaf and chicken pot pie.
Catering orders are also made from scratch out of the kitchen … anything from sandwich trays to “chicken spiedies” (marinated grilled chicken sandwiches on Portuguese rolls) and pulled pork.
Do you offer a lot of locally made/harvested food products? If so, talk about the importance of offering those products to your customers and your community and how you merchandise/market them.
At Minier’s, we strive to carry and highlight as many locally sourced products as we can. In most cases, the local products in each category are the best sellers.
For example, our local pasta sauces, marinades and ice cream products are the highest volume movers in their categories by far. They sell well for a variety of reasons. Customers love to support local products when possible – the products tend to be higher quality than national brands – and we merchandise them in prime locations in the store.
You often will find these items merchandised a few different ways, including on endcaps, on stand-alone displays or in a prime position in the category at eye level.
Tell me about your customer base. How do the area’s demographics influence your store offerings?
The Southern Tier of New York is a beautiful rural/suburban area located at the foot of Finger Lakes region. Our customer base has “meat-and-potatoes” roots [but] is excited to experience new tastes and the latest trending products.
Minier’s serves its local neighborhood on a daily basis and draws people in regionally with the meat department. Offering the freshest meat and produce while highlighting local and unique items has been successful.
I’ve heard you’re doing a great job on social media promoting your store. How long have you been active on social media? What kind of posts seem to resonate most with your customers, and do you feel that you’ve gained new customers from your social media presence?
Minier’s has been utilizing social media, mainly Facebook, for 15 years. Through that time, we have achieved a good following. I use Facebook and Instagram to highlight our meat department and new or local items.
The short videos we make get the most interaction and views. The videos are as funny and lighthearted as we can make them, often incorporating viral trends and topical events.
The presence on social media has opened us up to a much larger audience than traditional media outlets can. It allows us to advertise quickly and jump on trends faster than other forms of media.
This allows us to get content out that is relevant and timely at a much more cost-effective rate. It is all about content on social media, but we tend to strive for quality over quantity to keep the audience engaged when we do post content. The more successful and engaging a post is, the bigger increases in sales volume we see.
Let’s talk about Minier’s Express. How long have you offered online ordering and delivery? What percentage of your customers that take advantage of that service?
Minier’s was the first in our region to offer delivery of groceries by partnering with a local company called Rosie that has since been acquired by Instacart.
Now that we are with Instacart, we look forward to growing online sales again by offering more options such as in-store pickup. Increasing our percentage of sales online going forward will be a priority.
How do you deliver on customer service? How many team members do you have? Do you have long-tenured team members?
As a local business, we are extremely lucky to have the team that we have. Our friendly staff comprises about 55 people, including both full and part time.
The majority of our department heads have been with us for over 20 years, and our store manager, Ryan Rathbun, started with me back when we were in high school. Having people with this level of experience and dedication translates into smooth operations and excellent customer service. They know what the customer expects, and they deliver.
On the front end, we have cashiers who enjoy working with the public and getting to know our loyal customers. Front-end managers are held to a “no line” policy by jumping in when needed and calling staff up front to make sure our customers have a pleasant experience at checkout.
Night and weekend cashier shifts are primarily covered by high school kids from the community. They do a great job interacting with our customers, oftentimes their neighbors. Customers also seem to enjoy the fact we will still hire young adults from the community and give them their first job.
What programs/services does Associated Grocers of New England offer that are most valuable to your business?
AGNE has proven to be a strong partner. The quality of product we are receiving at a value has better positioned us to compete going forward. They are big enough to achieve a suitable economy of scale while being small enough to offer the level of service an independent operation requires.
The staff is always bringing ideas to the table and is eager to help in any way they can. We have had success in the past being part of a previous co-op model warehouse, and this organization seems to be the next step up.
They are steering the membership into an exciting new way of incorporating all our media channels to help leverage more marketing dollars from manufacturers. This type of thinking will be key in keeping the membership healthy and valuable in the industry.
How do you support the community around your store?
Minier’s has always tried to give back as much as we can to honor the community that has supported us for so many years. Minier’s gives to local sports leagues, benefits and community organizations. We also do a checkout drive for our local food pantry and work with them on a weekly basis.
Tell me about your path to joining the family business. Are younger generations poised to join the business?
I wouldn’t say I grew up in the store like some other owners have, but I certainly grew up around it.
Growing up, I looked at the store like another member of the family. It gave me the opportunity to watch my grandfather and father and see the amount of hard work and dedication it would take to run the store. As a child, I spent some days here “helping” after school and coming back to the store with my dad after dinner to fill the meat case.
I officially started working at the store when I was 13, coming after school to pack groceries a few times a week. I worked at the store throughout high school and college, but it wasn’t until college that I thought about coming back to the store.
I am the youngest of three siblings, and they had different ambitions than running a grocery store. There was never any pressure on us to come back to the store.
After college, I moved to Washington, D.C., and worked for the NFL Players Association for three years. My dad came to visit me one day and asked if I wanted to come and begin taking over the store; he felt it was time to make changes.
I was honored to come back to the business in 2009. I am the fifth generation to run the store and am lucky to still have the wisdom of my father to turn to. I knew coming back to the business was going to be a challenge – maybe naïve to how challenging it would be – but I wouldn’t change it. I am passionate about the industry and find competing with the big stores hard but equally rewarding at times.
I have three younger children and will encourage them to follow their own passions. People ask if one of the kids will take over; I always say we have to make it there first.
What are the joys and challenges of working in a family-owned business?
I wouldn’t trade working for our family business for anything else. It is certainly equal parts challenging and rewarding, depending on the day. I feel lucky to have worked closely with my parents and created a unique bond over a business.
I am also lucky to have a father who is patient and encouraging while watching me still continue to learn to this day. That being said, we are in business 364 days a year, and different problems arise every day.
I think most independent grocers would agree this is more of a lifestyle than a career, and it can’t be done without a great staff to depend on and a supportive family.
Describe the competitive landscape around your store. What are the reasons Minier’s has continued to thrive over the decades?
Minier’s is one of the last independents left in our community. Within a few miles of the store, we compete with Walmart, Sam’s Club, Aldi, Tops, Target, Wegmans and multiple Dollar Generals.
The Southern Tier of New York can be seen as a price-sensitive market. Our niche is the meat department that brings people in regionally. Our mission is to deliver quality fresh meats at a value. Between our loyal local customers and regional meat customers, we have managed to carve out enough space in the market to continue to compete.
My grandfather’s generation had the foresight to build a modern supermarket and establish the Minier name. My father figured out how to face competition and have the courage to change his business model to find the niche necessary to survive.
The biggest lesson I’ve learned from him is that if you don’t push, your competition is glad to take your business. I think it is evident that my challenge will be finding a way to stay relevant in an industry that is changing fast and consolidating quickly.
My brother gave me great advice. He told me the No. 1 threat to small business in America is staying relevant, so that is our mission.
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