Leo and Anne Schoenhofen recently purchased The Butcher Shoppe in Chambersburg
from her father Frank Keath, who worked with Leo for five years to prepare him to lead the company.
Quality products and exceptional customer service remains a top priority for the couple.
from her father Frank Keath, who worked with Leo for five years to prepare him to lead the company.
Quality products and exceptional customer service remains a top priority for the couple.
Getting into the grocery business can be difficult considering the competition, long hours and challenges in hiring good employees, but those factors didn’t deter Leo and Anne Schoenhofen, who recently purchased her family’s supermarket, The Butcher Shoppe, in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.
Anne’s grandparents Glenn and Lorraine Koons bought the original corner grocery store, Scotland Road Market, in 1968. They eventually purchased the land for the current location at 410 Stouffer Avenue in Chambersburg and built a small store. Since then, the store has expanded five times. Their daughter Mary Sue and her husband Frank Keath and son Terry Koons all worked in the business until the early 2000s when the Keath’s bought out Terry Koons.
Leo and Anne Schoenhofen met in high school, moved away to explore other opportunities and eventually moved back to Chambersburg. They married and had four sons. Leo joined the company in 2009, after talking to his father-in-law about his needs for more managers. During the last five years, Frank taught Leo all about running the business and the couple decided to purchase the supermarket. Anne’s brother Adam is a project manager with the company.
Leo, who has a background in real estate, now serves as president and CEO, while Anne serves as vice president and does the store’s marketing.
“I can come in every day and have different challenges to find solutions for,” says Leo Schoenhofen. “It’s really exciting to be part of this.”
“This business has been in my family,” says Anne Schoenhofen. “I’ve never known anything else. To watch him get excited about it is wonderful.”
The Butcher Shoppe offers a vastly different experience than a traditional supermarket. Service cases are installed throughout the store and shoppers receive personalized attention from the associates who have strong product knowledge. High quality meats, poultry and seafood fills the cases, which are immaculately clean. Butchers are on staff to make fresh cuts and answer questions. They source as many items locally as possible. Hoffman’s and Weavers are two of their main suppliers of beef.
The deli features a separate service case with freshly made salads. In addition, a separate grab and go case makes it easy for shoppers to pick up items quickly. More than 200 products are made from scratch. Some of the recipes are stables from Anne’s grandparents, but new recipes are constantly being developed to meet new customer requests and trends. The company employs six chefs to ensure high quality, consistent products.
“Our kitchen manager was a chef in Louisiana and we have a baker who worked at the Biltmore,” says Anne. “They’ve seen things from different parts of the world and we give them the freedom to create new recipes.”
All the recipes go through an approval process as the staff works to meet changing consumer tastes. Today’s shoppers are looking for recipes with items such as kale, tabouli and quinoa. The store creates excitement for these new items by having a chef staff a tasting counter to regularly demonstrate recipes and answer customer questions.
The supermarket features high quality produce, sourced from Four Seasons Produce and many local growers. In addition, every day grocery items with some organic products are available to purchase.
The Big Oak Café, which opened in 2005, offers customers a place to enjoy coffee, espresso and other drinks, and breakfast and lunch items, such as salads, sandwiches, soup and desserts. The café provides seating for 60 and more on the outdoor patio. Shoppers can also purchase the private label coffee in packages to brew at home.
According to Leo, the customer service is what sets them apart from other supermarkets. In a time where many stores are cutting back on their service, he is adamant that all customers should be greeted and asked if they need help; have a bagger to bag their groceries and someone to help carry their bags to the car.
“Customer service starts from day one,” he says. “They (new associates) can see that everyone else is doing it and they follow suit. Department managers are on board with creating the customer friendly experience.”
“Our customers know what they are getting when they come here,” Leo says. “We have consistent products with high quality standards. It’s a destination.”
Anne’s grandparents Glenn and Lorraine Koons bought the original corner grocery store, Scotland Road Market, in 1968. They eventually purchased the land for the current location at 410 Stouffer Avenue in Chambersburg and built a small store. Since then, the store has expanded five times. Their daughter Mary Sue and her husband Frank Keath and son Terry Koons all worked in the business until the early 2000s when the Keath’s bought out Terry Koons.
Leo and Anne Schoenhofen met in high school, moved away to explore other opportunities and eventually moved back to Chambersburg. They married and had four sons. Leo joined the company in 2009, after talking to his father-in-law about his needs for more managers. During the last five years, Frank taught Leo all about running the business and the couple decided to purchase the supermarket. Anne’s brother Adam is a project manager with the company.
Leo, who has a background in real estate, now serves as president and CEO, while Anne serves as vice president and does the store’s marketing.
“I can come in every day and have different challenges to find solutions for,” says Leo Schoenhofen. “It’s really exciting to be part of this.”
“This business has been in my family,” says Anne Schoenhofen. “I’ve never known anything else. To watch him get excited about it is wonderful.”
The Butcher Shoppe offers a vastly different experience than a traditional supermarket. Service cases are installed throughout the store and shoppers receive personalized attention from the associates who have strong product knowledge. High quality meats, poultry and seafood fills the cases, which are immaculately clean. Butchers are on staff to make fresh cuts and answer questions. They source as many items locally as possible. Hoffman’s and Weavers are two of their main suppliers of beef.
The deli features a separate service case with freshly made salads. In addition, a separate grab and go case makes it easy for shoppers to pick up items quickly. More than 200 products are made from scratch. Some of the recipes are stables from Anne’s grandparents, but new recipes are constantly being developed to meet new customer requests and trends. The company employs six chefs to ensure high quality, consistent products.
“Our kitchen manager was a chef in Louisiana and we have a baker who worked at the Biltmore,” says Anne. “They’ve seen things from different parts of the world and we give them the freedom to create new recipes.”
All the recipes go through an approval process as the staff works to meet changing consumer tastes. Today’s shoppers are looking for recipes with items such as kale, tabouli and quinoa. The store creates excitement for these new items by having a chef staff a tasting counter to regularly demonstrate recipes and answer customer questions.
The supermarket features high quality produce, sourced from Four Seasons Produce and many local growers. In addition, every day grocery items with some organic products are available to purchase.
The Big Oak Café, which opened in 2005, offers customers a place to enjoy coffee, espresso and other drinks, and breakfast and lunch items, such as salads, sandwiches, soup and desserts. The café provides seating for 60 and more on the outdoor patio. Shoppers can also purchase the private label coffee in packages to brew at home.
According to Leo, the customer service is what sets them apart from other supermarkets. In a time where many stores are cutting back on their service, he is adamant that all customers should be greeted and asked if they need help; have a bagger to bag their groceries and someone to help carry their bags to the car.
“Customer service starts from day one,” he says. “They (new associates) can see that everyone else is doing it and they follow suit. Department managers are on board with creating the customer friendly experience.”
“Our customers know what they are getting when they come here,” Leo says. “We have consistent products with high quality standards. It’s a destination.”
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