Bruning Grocery Wins TCEDA’s Top Honor

When third-generation owner Paul Philippi learned of Bruning Grocery being the recipient of TCEDA’s Thriving in Thayer County Business of the Year Award, he was excited and humbled. Bruning Grocery has been a Thayer County staple for over 50 years and this is the first time winning the award. In his own words,

“It’s an incredible honor and a reminder of how lucky I am. This store exists because of all of those hard-working people who came before me and the sacrifices they made. I also owe so much of the success to a customer base that has always been loyal to us and is excited to see us succeed.” 

Bruning Grocery’s Past 

First-generation owner Rex Philippi was born and raised in Bruning. His wife, Doris, was raised on a farm outside of Geneva. Wanting a steady job with steady pay, Rex gave up the contractor business and entered the grocery business. Rex and Doris purchased Bruning Grocery in June 1973.

From Rex to second-generation owner Kurt, Bruning Grocery powered through the ups and downs of running a local grocery store in competition with big chains. Their long hours, hard work, vendor relationships, and customer satisfaction added to the lengthy equation that makes a business successful. Both Rex and Kurt took great pride in the ability to show up daily and get the job done while hiring employees with the same work ethic and workplace tenacity.

Rex and Kurt both instilled in Paul the same passion for a job well done. Starting at a young age, Paul worked in the family store:

• Unloading the trucks
• Refilling pop coolers
• Sweeping floors
• Bagging groceries
• Being a general nuisance to Kurt (Paul’s favorite duty as a child)

During his sophomore year of college, Paul decided to learn the family business in preparation for leading the charge. During his college years, Paul routinely returned home to visit family and help Kurt in the store. 

Bruning Grocery’s Present 

With fond memories of spending time with his dad, Kurt, eating candy bars, and drinking pop, another driving force for Paul to continue the family legacy was the community respect he witnessed his grandfather and father receive for their work. Paul is now the owner, manager, and head butcher of Bruning Grocery.

Yet, Paul understands that no man is an island. He attributes Bruning Grocery’s continued success to the employees and customers,

“We’ve been blessed with incredible employees who set the standard for hard work and dedication. Throughout our time, we have had several employees that have spent decades with us and without that kind of dedication to their job, our store wouldn’t be here today.”

Paul fused his education with his on-the-job experience to help Bruning Grocery stay current and move ahead into the digital age. He credits taking “eye-opening classes that put social media benefits as a marketing tool into perspective.” Thanks to social media, Paul was able to transfer 90% of Bruning Grocery’s classical marketing to online marketing, passing the savings on to their customers.  

Bruning Grocery’s Future 

Thanks to Kurt and now Paul, Rex’s legacy continues to thrive in Thayer County. Paul says,

“By all metrics, Bruning Grocery should not exist. We have earned the business of our customers and I hope to continue that in every way. I’m a huge advocate for small businesses. When it comes to small communities, we need to understand that we are all in this together and that when one of us succeeds, it generally leads to the success of the rest. My dad and grandpa had a lot of working relationships with local businesses and we have tried to continue that in every way. We currently service eight restaurants on a regular basis at some level with others on special occasions. We love to help and keep the business local.

Bruning Grocery is a reflection of the work of its previous owners and all the employees along the way, current and past. We are here because of them and I simply try to live up to the standards set by them. We also could not be here without the incredible support of our customer base.”

Join us as we congratulate Bruning Grocery, TCEDA’s Thriving in Thayer County Business of the Year recipient, an award well deserved.