Jenny and Jim Walker, owners of Walker’s IGA, and their son, Jake Walker, assistant manager, stand next to their new produce section. Comet photo by Jennifer Archibald Burlington residents can shop locally for groceries with the newly opened and fully stocked Walker’s IGA.

Owners are Jim and Jenny Walker of Burlington.

“The town knows what it’s like to not have a grocery store,” Jenny said. The previous one officially closed last September.

The Walkers took over and have been working on getting it ready for the past six months.

They’ve painted the outside and inside, put a new porch roof on the exterior, installed new flooring in the front area of the store, and added a front office.

“We have a new dairy case, and a new produce area,” Jenny added. “People will be surprised at the full line of produce and increased variety.”

The Walkers said they also reconfigured the cash register system and took out four feet of shelving in each store row to make room for end caps.

Jenny is the day-to-day operator of the store because Jim has a full-time job at the Chrysler transmission plant, but he is still very much involved with the business. Their son, Jake Walker, is assistant manager.

The store is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week, and right now, Jenny and employee Donna Brown are co-managing the store full-time.

“Eventually we will take different shifts,” Jenny said.

The store has a kitchen and a cook, Valta Thieke. Jenny said the deli has grab-and-go things now, such as salads, wraps, sandwiches, and fruit, and is slowly getting into daily hot meals. She said the meals will be in full swing by fall.

The store’s butcher is Dave Rhine, and the full-time produce person will be Stephanie Mandley.

In addition to those mentioned above, the Walkers have eight other employees.

They said one of the reasons they opened their business is that without a grocery store, it’s hard for other local businesses to survive. Jenny said she knows this firsthand because she used to have a hair styling business.

She said when people had to go out of town to get their groceries, they did other shopping and other business there, too. Some of her clients told her they sometimes got their hair cut while they were out of town.

“We know our business will have to build,” Jenny said.

But she said customers have been pleased with how the store looks and how well the shelves are stocked.

“They say it’s like a blast from the past,” she said.

The Walkers said older people, as well as their caregivers appreciate being able to drive a short distance to get groceries and to have less walking inside than in the big super markets.

“The store has really put the life back in the town,” Jenny said.

“We’ve kept our prices as low as we can for a middle of nowhere grocery store,” she added.

“There’s not another grocery store within a 12-mile radius,” Jenny said. “And we’re the only grocery store between Logansport and Indianapolis on State Road 29.”

To help get the word out about their store, they’ve started a Facebook page and they’re asking for customer’s email addresses to send information.

“It was a total leap of faith to start this business,” Jenny said.

“We just pray people will support it,” Jim added.