Post 60 Market
A Community-Owned Store Keeping Rural Nebraska Connected to Fresh Food
When Emerson, Nebraska lost its only grocery store, residents decided going without one wasn’t an option. More than 130 investors in a town of roughly 900 people came together to create Post 60 Market, a community-owned grocery store that restored local access to food.
The store takes its name from the building that once housed American Legion Post 60, honoring the veterans who once gathered there. Today, the space serves a different but equally vital purpose: keeping Emerson connected to food, neighbors, and daily life.
For Brian Horak, helping manage the store is deeply personal. He grew up in Emerson before leaving in 1995 to join the United States Air Force. After a 20-year military career, he returned home with his wife and daughters to raise their family in the same small town where he was raised.
“When the opportunity came to help manage Post 60 Market and support my hometown, I jumped at it,” Horak says. “Running a rural grocery store is about much more than selling groceries. It’s about making sure people in our community can still access fresh food close to home.”
That mission matters in a region where grocery options have steadily declined.
Today, Post 60 Market serves more than just Emerson. Located near where three counties meet, the store has become an important food access point for surrounding communities that have lost their own grocery stores.
For residents, the nearest large supermarkets are in Sioux City or Wayne, about a 25-minute drive each way. For older adults, people with health challenges, or families without reliable transportation, that distance can become a serious barrier, making a local store like Post 60 Market essential to everyday life.
Horak sees those challenges firsthand in his day-to-day work, where customers are often neighbors who depend on having food close to home.
Post 60 Market is structured as a cooperative, owned by the community itself. Shareholders include residents as well as people who grew up in Emerson but now live elsewhere and still want to support their hometown. A seven-member board oversees the store, which employs ten local staff members and benefits from volunteers and investors committed to its success.
Beyond providing food, the store plays an important role in community life. It works with local schools and organizations to supply fresh produce for school lunches and provides products for fundraisers and community events. When small businesses cannot meet distributor minimum orders, the store often adds their items to its own deliveries so they can access the supplies they need.
In another example, local entrepreneur Jamie Anderson operates two businesses next door, a coffee shop called Main Street Cup and Table and Special Events by Galas Galore, an event planning business. She prepares fresh meals daily and offers them in the store’s cooler, providing convenient options for customers.
Sometimes the support is simpler. If someone cannot leave their home due to health issues, groceries are delivered free of charge. If a customer walks to the store because their car isn’t running, employees make sure their groceries get home safely.
“Our customers are our neighbors, friends, and family,” Horak says. “In a small town, everyone looks out for each other.”
Operating a rural grocery store comes with challenges. Small stores face higher freight costs, limited purchasing power, and tight margins compared with large chains. At the same time, the store balances fresh products with convenient foods that help families prepare quick, affordable meals. Spaghetti, for example, is one of the store’s top sellers.
Despite those challenges, Post 60 Market continues to grow. Sales have increased each year as more residents choose to shop locally, helping the cooperative work toward paying down its startup debt.
In many rural towns, places like the post office, grocery store, and local bank are more than businesses; they are essential infrastructure that keeps communities connected.
Across the United States, thousands of rural communities have lost their grocery stores, leaving residents with fewer options for fresh and affordable food. Yet Post 60 Market shows how communities are finding new ways forward. From cooperatives to community investment models, towns across the country are experimenting with approaches to keep local grocery stores viable.
In Emerson, the solution took the form of Post 60 Market, a store built by the community to serve the community.
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