Coal Town Supermarket Opens with New Owner at King’s Village in Minersville

The former BG’s Market at King’s Village in Minersville is under new ownership.

And Brent Radzwich is excited to show the community the new Coal Town Supermarket.

He says owning his own store is “a dream come true.”

“I always wanted my own store,” Radzwich says.

He thanks his wife, Kris Ann, for her support in helping him pursue his dream.

Radzwich’s family previously owned and operated Gould’s, a supermarket in the Hazleton area, for a number of years, so he’s grown up in the grocery industry.

Back in February, a wholesaler contacted him about potentially buying the former BG’s store in Minersville and he jumped at the chance.

Staying Competitive

In order to stay competitive in an already competitive grocery market, Radzwich says he’s got to offer cleanliness, competitive pricing, and great customer service. And that’s what he intends to do at Coal Town Supermarket.

Radzwich says his primary goal for Coal Town Supermarket is competitive pricing. He intends on working with his suppliers so he can offer the best prices possible to his customers.

He also intends on bringing in a bigger variety of products to stock the shelves.

One area he’d like to focus on is offering more prepared foods, made in-store, on a consistent basis.

“I’m making sure that we always have something out,” Radzwich says.

He also wants to keep the deli department open longer into the day, something he says is a big demand.

If there’s one lesson he’s learned growing up in the grocery business it’s that you have to be ready to adjust and change.

“You have to adjust to what’s going on out there. You have to adjust to your competition. You can’t just rely on one wholesaler and assume everything’s great,” he says. “You have to be looking at what your options are out there for variety.

Unique Local Products

In the first days since getting the keys to the building, Radzwich wanted to bring a little bit of some of his hometown’s favorite items to customers here in Schuylkill County. Namely, that means Senape’s and Carmen’s bakery products from Hazleton.

Senape’s and Carmen’s are known for a cold cut pizza (or pitza), a square pie that doesn’t need to be heated or refrigerated.

And they’ve been flying off the shelves, he says.

“It’s way more huge than I thought it would be,” he says. “What we’re selling, I can’t even believe. I’ve very appreciative to the bakeries back home and adjusting to this volume that I’ve picked up.”

Another Hazleton favorite that he’s introduced to his store are T&L Pierogies.

Radzwich hopes the success of these local brands opens the door to other businesses in the area, especially Schuylkill County, to start supplying his store with products, like farmers with their produce, for example.

“I’m all for that,” he says. “I encourage anyone that wants to sell more products to please contact me because we’re already buying local.”

Community Involvement

In order to better connect with the local community, Radzwich wants to work with organizations like churches and fire companies and others.

“Please see me and we’ll do something,” he says.

Radzwich says he learned from his parents and grandparents that it’s very important to be involved in the community where you’re doing business.

And that goes beyond just working in a charitable sense. He wants to work with local businesses, too. If local businesses are going elsewhere to get products they need to run their business, Radzwich wants to be the store that supplies them.

“If I can benefit from them, they can benefit from me,” he says.

The Importance of a Great Staff

Radzwich says he intends to hire a few more employees in the near future and that should help improve the customer experience at Coal Town Supermarket.

He retained the entire staff from BG’s and has nothing but praise for them, especially their knowledge and familiarity with the store’s customers.

“The staff has been phenomenal,” Radzwich says. “This is a dream come true for me and I couldn’t do it without them.”