Grocery Store Guru hits Hy-Vee

Owatonna Hy-Vee has a new director, Mike Graham, and he is ready to go! He has lived and breathed grocery stores since his youth. From bagging groceries to stocking shelves to managerial positions, Graham has worked his way through various roles to the director position. 
Graham replaces former store director Matt May. May left in early July to take a store director position at a Hy-Vee in Perry, Iowa, to be closer to family. 
Graham’s first day at the Owatonna Hy-Vee was on Sunday, June 26. “I got the call Thursday and I was here Sunday,” laughed Graham. “I’ve enjoyed me first few days. It’s a beautiful new store and the staff are fantastic. The community is nice and customers are great, too.” 
One of Graham’s first jobs was in his uncle’s local, independent grocery store in the Des Moines area. After Graham’s son was born, he attended the University of Minnesota and ran a grocery store in the cities. He graduated in three years and, during that time, his daughter was born. 
“I took Tuesday/Thursday classes, and then three night classes. And I would work early mornings,” said Graham. “My wife laughs that my daughter didn’t know me until she was two.” 
His undergraduate degrees are in Psychology and Economics, and he later received his master’s degree in Business Administration. 
Throughout and following his graduation, Graham worked as a general manager, manager of perishable foods and store operations manager in Hy-Vee stores. Most recently, he was a merchandising supervisor in a Des Moines area Hy-Vee. 
Graham said that the director position does a little bit of everything, including the management of about 300 employees. However, an important aspect of the position is community outreach and relationships. Therefore, Graham will become familiar with Owatonna Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, the fair and other local organizations. 
“The store director acts as a liaison between the store and the community,” said Graham. “As a director, I get to incorporate what matters to me and the community.” Graham said that he has been a big advocate for animals and health, so he has done programs with the grocery store and organizations, such as the Humane Society. 
“There is an amazing amount of autonomy in each Hy-Vee store. No store is run the same,” remarked Graham. “It’s cool to put your stamp on a store.” 
He said that the Hy-Vee staff and community has been very welcoming towards him. He admits that he has a lot of people to meet and that it might take him a while to meet all of the “moving parts” of the store, from the companies that do the floor to the people that mow the lawn. 
“Getting to know all of those people can be challenging and time consuming,” said Graham, though he already knows much of the staff by name. 
An area of grocery store function that holds a lot of value for Graham is customer space, so he said that he wants to make sure that each customer feels they have enough room to shop comfortably. 
“Every director has an idea or thought process regarding how the store should look,” explained Graham, “I don’t like too much product on the floor or those huge carts (used to stock) sitting out. I want customers to be able to maneuver their carts and have a good shopping experience free of frustrations.”
While Graham is becoming more familiar with the Owatonna Hy-Vee and community, he is also working with his wife Tracy and their two children to set up home here. His son Brooks is 11 and daughter Reagan is nine. Graham commented that both kids are just young enough where the move is not too hard on them with school and friends. 
“We really enjoyed Minnesota when we lived here before, and my favorite season is winter, so it’s perfect,” joked Graham. 
He encourages customers to not by shy. “Stop and say hi. That’s why I’m here, smiling and wearing this name tag,” said Graham, with a laugh.