If you had asked people in Ashton last year what should be at the top of the village’s shopping list, a lot of them would have said one thing: a grocery store.

Today, that item has been crossed off the list, and residents are happy to have the shelves stocked again in this Lee County community of just under a thousand people.

After Ron’s Food Market, formerly Ashton Foods, closed more than a year ago, residents were left without a grocery store, forcing them to travel 10 or 15 miles for staples to fill their kitchens.

That’s when Lirim Mimini stepped in.

Mimini, who has managed the Huddle Cafe for nearly 2 decades, bought the building at 602 Brown Ave. in August 2016, and after repairs and renovations, opened Mimini’s General Store on Nov. 10.

Phyllis Ott of Ashton became a regular at the store the day it opened.

“I was grateful and glad to have a store back in town,” she said. “Otherwise, I’d be going to Rochelle or Dixon.”

Mimini aims to give provide a place where customers can find just about everything on their grocery lists.

The store offers food and other goods, ranging from produce, meat and bakery goods to dog treats, greeting cards and cookware.

“There’s a little bit of everything,” Mimini said. “There hasn’t been anyone unable to find what they wanted.”

Deli sandwiches and salads are prepared each day, and the store packages its own choice meats, from chicken tenders to Angus ribeye.

The store also stocks beer, wine and liquor, and a bar area is sectioned off in a corner with three video gambling machines and a TV. It also boasts medicine, automotive supplies, propane, bug repellent and AFC T-shirts as well as coffee and fountain drink stations.

Ott, a network administrator for Crest Foods, often stops by for a quick lunch and was excited to find Cliff’s Donuts, homemade by locals Cliff and Rhonda Jones, who are well-known in these parts for their apple cider doughnuts.

“I think it has a lot of different varieties for people,” she said. “It makes our town a better place to live.”

In a 2016 interview, Mayor Don Ross said that although it’s difficult to compete with large chain stores in Dixon and Rochelle, having a store in Ashton will help keep local dollars in the community.

“I think people are learning and understanding the need to support local businesses more than they used to,” he said. “I really think the mentality is changing.”

Before the store opened, Mimini, who teaches foreign language at Sauk Valley Community College and is a professional translator, visited 22 similar-sized stores to get a better feel of what he needed to offer.

Mimini said about 50 to 60 people a day stop in the store, a number he hopes to grow.

“People are still discovering us,” he said.

Customers have come from Dixon, Mendota, Sandwich, and Chana, and there’s also a woman from Amboy who specifically comes for a certain type of taffy sticks she can’t find elsewhere.

“This is a small town, but I think it’s a great asset to have everything under one roof,” Mimini said. “We want to keep it simple, but at the same time, we want to give people what they need.”

MORE INFORMATION

Mimini's General Store, 602 Brown Ave. in Ashton, is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Call 815-453-7500 or find the store on Facebook for more information.