Peaceful Thymes Gifts & Garden Center, Inc.: A small greenhouse/gift store in Atwater, MN, ready to add a small grocery division

I grew up in a small town in central Minnesota that had 2 grocery stores and a hardware store, 2 cafes. It was the type of town where everyone new each other. My husband and I now reside on a small acreage. I have worked at small independently owned businesses all of my life. I currently own and operate a greenhouse, gift store, coffee shop, hardware store and bait shop. My husband works a seasonal job, so he works beside me in the winter months.
My goal is to grow my current business.

Eleven years ago, I decided to take a chance and with the support of my husband and extended family, I opened a small greenhouse/gift store in Atwater, MN. That was in 2005, in 2011 the community had suffered a huge loss of 4 businesses to a tragic fire. One of the businesses was the local hardware store. When the previous owners decided not to rebuild, I decided that it would be a good merger with my existing business. In 2012 I moved to a new location and added the hardware store to my greenhouse, gift store and coffee shop.
Now, our community has met another loss with the local grocery store closing. I have researched and feel that I have the space/resources to add a small grocery division. This area will include local products and fill the void that the community is looking for and I feel that it will be a good addition for my current business. I enjoy each day with the store, because of the support of the customers and friendships that we have made. It’s like having another family.

A kiva loan of $5,000.00 will assist me in purchasing some of the startup inventory for the grocery area. I am looking at a complete startup of $15,000.00 for cooler, freezer and inventory. I feel by adding the groceries will increase our daily sales and daily foot traffic to the existing business.