At Kj's Market in Lake City, South Carolina, a rung cowbell isn't a malfunction — it's a celebration. Under Ricky Dow's leadership, the store rebranded two years ago into something that feels part grocery store, part community gathering place, and the transformation has made it one of just nine IGA Retailers of the Year in the country.
Ricky spoke with IGA CEO John Ross for an episode of For the Greater Good about the importance of consistently putting guests first. Watch below or keep reading for a recap of their conversation.
The new Kj's includes the Blueberry Kitchen, a restaurant-style space where guests can sit down for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, along with a butcher shop that shifted from self-service to a full-service model. When a customer's order comes together at the meat counter, they ring a cowbell — and the whole store responds. Add in the "dosey do," a store dance performed for visitors, and biscuits that are famously square instead of round because, as Ricky puts it, they don't cut corners, and it's easy to see why the store's energy has spread on social media. It's a level of playfulness that could easily feel forced elsewhere, but paired with genuinely strong product quality, it's become part of what makes the store distinct.
Ricky's own path into grocery started with a choice between flipping burgers at McDonald's and taking a job at Bi-Lo in August 1984, encouraged by an aunt who worked there. He chose Bi-Lo, spent 35 years with the company, then transferred to Kj's in 2017. 41 years later, he's still all in, running a location close to an MDI corporate office — a position that comes with constant visits from headquarters, but one Ricky treats as no different from any other day: the focus stays on the guest, not the clipboard.
That guest-first mentality extends into the store's giving programs. A recurring two-week front-end donation push lets shoppers contribute directly to local causes, with the store matching their support. Ongoing partnerships include the schools, senior center, and Harvest Hope, one of South Carolina's largest food banks, plus more targeted moments of generosity, like donating Gatorade to the local high school football team during spring practice.
On value, Ricky's team has built out a lineup of butcher shop bundles — seafood, beef, pork, chicken, and a general value bundle — priced at $5, $7, $10, and $12, each packaged with three proteins so a family can plan half a week of meals in one convenient purchase. It's a small design touch — a display box that shows the meat right through the front — but it reflects a bigger idea: helping shoppers stretch their budget without making it feel like a bargain-bin compromise.
Above all, what stands out is consistency. Ricky describes a simple standard his team holds to every day: greet every guest, keep the conversation going, and make sure people leave wanting to come back. Longtime shoppers and staff — some of whom worked in the store as kids themselves — see the new Kj's and still recognize the same store they've always loved, just with more reasons to smile.
For independent grocers thinking about what a brand refresh could look like, Ricky's story is a reminder that innovation doesn't have to mean losing what made a store special in the first place. It can mean finding new ways to say yes to the people who have supported it for decades.