LeRoy Milling Co. survives the test of time

Sally Barber | Cadillac nEWs Kevin Draper, owner of LeRoy Milling Co., checks nursery stock. The business which was founded as an agriculture feed store 70 years ago is now focused on nursery sales.

LEROY — Running a profitable business in Michigan’s troubled economy is a challenge. Running it successfully in a village with a population of 267 is a notable achievement.

Kevin Draper, owner of LeRoy Milling Co., has operated the store for 17 years, managing to stay on top of the game despite changes in the area’s rural lifestyles.

Kevin purchased the business from his father Ken in 1979.

“I’m definitely a country guy,” Kevin said. “But I didn’t know if this was for me.”

He learned he liked retail and invested his career in making it grow.

The business was founded about 70 years ago and served the local agriculture community as a feed store. Kevin’s father purchased it in the early 1960s. Over the years Kevin has seen the operation adapt to three distinct market periods.

“I remember in the early 1980s when trucks would line up here for feed,” he said.

The boom didn’t last. The first major change occurred when local dairy farmers took advantage of government buyouts in the mid-1980s, shrinking the LeRoy farm community.

“It changed the face of the business,” Kevin said.

After the downsizing, the store began to focus on serving small farms and the Amish. In recent years, he has diversified stock and also learned to cater to the growing population of seasonal residents.

Today, the store continues to sell feed, but its nursery, selling plants, trees, shrubs and garden supplies accounts for a large proportion of sales. Wild birdseed, some gift items and propane sales also sustain the business.

“I don’t care what I sell as long as it’s legal and moral,” he said.

Keeping business alive requires careful strategies, according to Ken.

“I sit around and think about what would work in LeRoy,” he said. “I don’t care what would work in Cadillac or Grand Rapids. I look for what will work and still compliment what I’m doing - a country and agriculture business.”

His goal is to keep the business in the family and eventually pass ownership onto the next generation. Kevin and wife LeAnn have five children. Jeremy, 24, Emily, 10, and Rachel, 18, work at the store. But the future is uncertain.

After attending college, an older daughter settled in Tennesse. Rachel plans to attend Baker College next fall to earn a teaching degree. Jeremy works part-time at the store and part-time provides lawn care service.

“The business is not big enough to support both of us,” Ken explained.

Raised in LeRoy, he would like his children to know the same joys he has found in country life.

“The people are friendly and willing to help their neighbors,” he said. “Everybody knows everybody and watches out for everybody.”

However, he is realistic about his children’s future.

“Unfortunately, you can’t keep them here,” he said. “It’s the price of a small town. I think about it every day.”

Regardless of the challenges, Jeremy intends to stake his future in the LeRoy community.

“I’ll probably stay here forever,” he said. “There’s really nothing here. It’s just home.”

When all is said and done, that may be everything.

sbarber@cadillacnews.com | 775-NEWS (6397)