Hill City’s Krull’s Market celebrates 30 years

It is your one stop store for milk, produce and fresh meat. Perhaps you bought paper products there for a spontaneous picnic, flowers for an anniversary or candy for a wide-eyed little one. Whether you rush through to grab one thing or stroll through each aisle, Krull’s Market plays an important role in Hill City. That is why owners Eric and Danielle Lind want to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Krull’s Market with the entire community.
The celebration will kick off on Sunday, May 8, with a cake cutting at 3 p.m. The cutting will include the founders of the market, Dennis and Kim Krull, as well as previous owners Jason and Stacia Peters. There will even be free cupcakes for everyone made special in the bakery. After that, there will be “smoking hot sales” and free samples every day that week.
On Tuesday, May 10, drawings will begin as the Linds give away shirts, hats, air pods and even a basketball hoop to lucky participants. On Wednesday,  May 11, there will be free hot dogs and soda. Finally, Friday, May 13, will be filled with employee appreciation events to honor those who have been there from the beginning to the current staff. Customers can stop in all week long to join in the fun.
“We wouldn’t be here without our customers. We wouldn’t be here without our community,” Danielle said. “We want to set this week aside to say, ‘This is for you and about you.’”
Krull’s Market officially opened May 26, 1992, when Dennis and Kim Krull moved to Hill City and bought the Mighty Mart USA store. Their family had a long history of owning businesses. Dennis’ grandfather owned three businesses, and his father bought his first grocery store in 1968, which Dennis and his brother worked at and later bought in 1981. However, this new business proved challenging.
“It was really hard,” said Dennis. The original store only had 8,000 square feet and needed maintenance. One day the ceiling of the freezer fell in and another day a pallet jack fell through the floor. After buying the pizza place next door to expand into a liquor store, a section of the floor sunk and crushed everything.
On two other occasions, the store was broken into and vandalized.
“They had a pellet gun,” said Dennis, “and every freezer and cooler, every piece of glass, they shot.” Honey, syrup and glass sprayed everywhere.
Yet Dennis said that “Every time something would happen, we would have all kinds of volunteers to help us.”
In 2000, the Krulls expanded the store by adding a new addition, moving all the products to the other side, remodeling the original space and spreading out the products. Every time they began moving products, the people of Hill City showed up and started helping without being asked or knowing about the project in advance.
“We took a store that was 8,000 square-feet and made it 18,000 square-feet, and the only reason we could do that is because of the support we got from the local people,” Dennis said.
According to Dennis, owning a grocery store was never easy, but it was very rewarding to meet so many people and receive the support of the community.
“My favorite part of owning Krull’s Market was the challenge of growing it. Making it better every year and finding out what the community wanted and trying to give that to them,” he said.
After 20 years of ownership the Krulls passed the store on to their nephew, Jason Peters, and his wife, Stacia. Jason came to work for Dennis straight out of college and after 14 years was excited to be his own boss.
“I’ve always enjoyed retail, and my family has been in it for 60 years so it’s just something that I wanted to do,” said Jason. Everything flowed pretty seamlessly from them to us.”
There were challenges, of course, but overall Jason said, “it was very rewarding for both myself and my wife.”
After five years, Jason and Stacia were ready to pursue some new opportunities and began thinking about selling. The first person to come to mind was the Krulls’ daughter, Danielle, and her husband, Eric.
Stacia approached Danielle one day when she was at the store with her 2-week-old baby and asked if she and Eric had ever thought about owning it.
“I laughed and said, ‘My total goal in life right now is keeping this tiny human alive,’” Danielle said. Still, they could not stop thinking about the possibility and the desires it would fulfill.
In 2018, Eric and Danielle took over ownership of Krull’s Market. According to Eric, “We took our life, dumped it all out on the ground, shuffled the pieces and it was super difficult to put all the pieces together in a short period of time, but it happened.”
They were very happy that it did too.
Danielle had been around grocery stores and businesses her whole life and was familiar with the processes. Eric on the other hand, jumped straight in with four months of retail experience. As a result, he shared, “The first couple years were a super steep learning curve for me.”
Then COVID-19 hit, and everything changed again. During this time, they ordered supplies from all different sources and fought to keep the shelves full even if that meant buying eggs by the hundreds and repackaging them by hand for customers.
“Our employees really stepped up,” said Danielle. “We would not be where we are without them.
“I’ve always said, ‘If you want to be good at something, surround yourself with people who are better at the things you are not good at.’”
Krull’s Market is best known for its produce, fresh meat and cleanliness. What is stunning is the managers in charge of these three things have been with Krull’s Market for over 20 years.
“They are what makes us successful,” said Danielle. “To me, they are family because they are all I’ve ever known here.”
Front end manager and bookkeeper Penny Millburn began working for the Mighty Mart USA the year before it became Krull’s Market.
“The Krull family has been very great to work for and good people to work with, and I’ve enjoyed meeting the different people from all over,” Milburn said.
Meanwhile, produce manager Becky Davis has worked at Krull’s since March of 1999.
“It’s just a good place to work. It’s always been good surroundings and good people,” said Davis. “The Krulls have always treated us very well and shown their appreciation for what we do.”
Finally, meat manager Chantry Millburn started in 1993.
“The people are good to work for and with,” he said.
However, the one word that continues to come up is family. According to Danielle, “Everything about us is family, family, family.”
The management and staff are a family. It is a place for high school kids to get their first job, for retirees to stay connected in their community and for everyone in between. Some days are challenging, but it is a happy chaos in a fun environment.
When customers walk through the front doors, they become a part of that family atmosphere.
“I hope they know how much we value them,” Eric said.
In the end, Krull's Market wishes “to put on the best display of what Hill City has to offer,” Eric said.
“We’re proud of where we are and proud of the community that we’re in,” Danielle said.