GUERNSEY – Guernsey’s only grocery store, Lynn’s Superfoods, posted a sign on their front doors last week on Feb. 19, stating they were closed for business.
A phone call by the Guernsey Gazette to the grocery store confirmed the closure is permanent, and a direct result of the public comments, and lack of a decision by the Guernsey council at their meeting Tuesday night on the sale/transfer of a liquor license to Lynn’s from Ben’s Bar. The representative of the store on the phone call refused to give their name, as they didn’t want their name to be associated with the decision, but added there was no official comment by the store management, as of Feb. 19.

The meeting
At the council meeting, members of the public, including Lana and Doug Swingholm of Crazy Tony’s Bar and Grill protested the transfer of the liquor license to a “large chain grocery store,” which could result in the closure of two small business, Crazy Tony’s and Kelly’s Bar, who rely on package liquor sales to keep their business lucrative and pay the salaries of dozens of employees in the town of approximately 1,200 people. She also emphasized she and her business partners believe in being a part of and supporting the community, pointing out they have given back to the people in the community many times since they purchased the business a little over a year ago, and plan continue to give back as much as they are able.
Community member and local business owner Stacia Cook summed up the sentiment of many of the people at the meeting, both in support of Lynn’s Superfoods and potential consequences of allowing the chain grocery store to receive a liquor license. Stacia Cook said she had talked to the owners of both establishments who would be heavily affected by the transfer of the liquor license. Summarizing their concerns, she said, “I would like to take a minute to congratulate all the other small businesses and their owners for staying in business over the last five years. Covid was hard on everyone, and it continues to be difficult in today’s economy no matter how you look at it,” she said. “Normally I would say everyone deserves to go ahead and compete at a different level in order to prosper in any way they can. However, that isn’t the case here. Moving this license from a small business to a larger corporation isn’t equal to being ahead and prospering as a small business. This move would actually do more harm than good in this community.”
Cook said, after listening to the concerns of the two small business owners who would be directly affected by the liquor license transfer, “The grocery store sells thousands of items every day that are not liquor related. Thank goodness. We have a great grocery store. I love it, and I would never want it to go away. However, these businesses are limited to what they can and cannot sell. They cannot compete with the bulk orders that a grocery store alone could actually get in liquor sales.”
She suggested tourists coming to Guernsey who go to the state park next door to the town will come to town early in the morning, stop by the store and gas stations to get their liquor and supplies without coming further into town. “Unfortunately, this would mean that our tourism will go down. No matter how you look at it. We depend on tourism in this town because we are such a small community. So allowing the store to take over this license would mean that we possibly lose two establishments, lowering the dollars coming in and detract from tourism all together. We are already down to a select few restaurants in town, and if Crazy Tony’s and Kelly’s were to shut down, that would take two more small business establishments away from our community, one full restaurant, and the possibility of another one that’s possibly coming in the fall. Please think about that.”
Stacia Cook urged the council to think about her concerns and urged them to consider holding a workshop “so the entire community could attend, this is probably not the best night to get everyone together because of the weather.”
Kelly Augustyn spoke, sharing appreciation for the grocery store, but said he shares the concerns of the townspeople – not necessarily regarding the businesses themselves, but on the employees who work for them. “I urge you to consider how this could affect their employment, housing – their lives if they have to leave here,” he said, adding the businesses have all been great supporters of the community with donations in the past. “We are a small town… I’ve worked with you guys, and you have always endorsed ‘buy here, stay here,’ you should let that continue.”
Long-time resident and business owner for 40 years, Renee Boomhower (Kelly’s Bar owner) also spoke, urging the council to have a workshop in order to spend a couple hours discussing the issue that is “so crucial, and so important to the community. This needs further study and thought, and with the weather (tonight), a lot of people couldn’t come.”
Negating an earlier comment, Boomhower also pointed out her observation over the years that people going to the state park typically bring their own “booze,” so it wouldn’t impact early morning sales as much as was alluded to.
Guernsey resident Ada Pulos stated, “One of the main problems is we have a businessman who wants to sell, and one wants to buy. They have that right. We have our own opinions, but do we have a right to hold up that sale is my concern?”
She also pointed out there is not a lot of profit in operating a grocery store, because there is not much room for markups to make profit.
“I hope we can come to an understanding,” Pulos said.
The center store supervisor of Lynn’s Superfoods was at the meeting. Myron Kruckenberg addressed the perception of the store being a “multi-million-dollar corporation” who makes a lot of money. He said every store stands alone, and the store in Guernsey has lost money for the last five years. Citing permission from the store’s owner, Don Feister, shared some specific numbers. “In 2023 we lost $153,878…in the first two periods of 2024, ending in August, we lost $302,407,” Kruckenberg said. “While I appreciate Crazy Tony’s - I eat there a lot. I appreciate Kelley’s. We go there. But I can tell you right now that this is a lifeline for this store (the liquor license transfer). I don’t want to hurt anybody. Whatever the sentiment in Guernsey is, we understand.”
Responding to questions about the 2017 remodel, it was pointed out, the owner and management had wanted to be a part of the community for 30 years. “Well, through what has transpired in Guernsey, we just can’t take the losses anymore. I mean, who wants to lose a half a million dollars. We’re better off closing that store. Which is where we are,” Kruckenberg said.
He also set the record straight as far as contributing to the community, mentioning they have given thousands of dollars to the food pantry, along with several donations. “I want you to think about something before you get too crazy. We don’t want Crazy Tony’s and Kelly’s closing…The sentiment is overwhelming against us. So what, that we have 15 stores? This store does not get to pull from Custer or Sturgis or anywhere else. We have to be self-sufficient.”
Addressing a comment by Brad Cook, who questioned whether a decision to pass the liquor license transfer was a “done deal” before the meeting, Kruckenberg said, “I apologize for putting an extension in the store. I can put it back, no big deal, whether this is approved we can change it – or not. We could leave it how it is and close the store... However, unfortunately I can tell you, if this is not approved the grocery store will close within 15 – 30 days. That’s just the reality of doing business. We lost a half a million dollars in two years.”
This prompted several comments supporting the store and encouraging more people to shop locally if there is a problem with the store not making enough money, though there were some who said it was difficult to buy all their groceries locally because of the prices.
Ben’s Bar owner Wayne Perkins said he has weighed the decision whether or not to agree to the sale / transfer of his business’s package liquor license, and finally decided it would be good for his family and his business. He explained he doesn’t make many package liquor sales at his drive-up window, which is used primarily for food sales. After he was approached with the offer by Lynn’s Superfoods to purchase his liquor license, he “kicked it around for six months.”
Perkins admitted, “Financially this will be a boost. Times are tough. All three bars are suffering – I know that.… and I am doing this because I was approached and thought about it for six months, and we finally decided it was going to be a good move for us.”

“We serve the community, we have served everybody sitting here…The way it is, it’s a move I want to make, and I guess if we want to have a workshop, have a workshop, but I’m not sure how long this is going to last. I wish I could help everybody out, but I can’t,” Perkins said.
He pointed out later in the meeting, he owns the license, and he has a right to sell it by following the law. “…Everyone is threatening to close; [It will do the same thing for my business]. You pour your life into that (your business). We lost our *** too. Covid took a toll on all of us, and we haven’t come back. I’ve lost three hundred-some thousand in the last years, too.”
To which Lana Swingholm said she and her business partners felt he went behind their backs without contacting the other two businesses to let them know a transfer of the license was being considered. “If we had those conversations, this would be a completely different situation with this,” she said.
Diana Preston, director of the food pantry in Guernsey, said, “You cannot believe the food the store gave us… and they give us a percentage of grocery receipts [back to the food pantry]. I don’t have an opinion on the liquor license, but I want to tell what they give us to help our [community], and we have more and more (people) all the time who need help.”
Councilwoman Penny Wells emphasized a decision concerning the liquor license had not been made prior to the meeting, and she believes businesses have a right to conduct business in a way that makes sense to their own interests. She stated she didn’t see how people can tell other businesses what decisions they have to make.
When it came time for the council to make a motion on the liquor license transfer, councilman Joe Michaels stated he was abstaining from the vote, and leaving the room, since he had a conflict of interest with his position on the board of the Guernsey Food Pantry, and past benefits it has received from Lynn’s Superfoods. “I don’t want my tie-in with that to sway the way I would vote, so I’m leaving the room.”
After Wells made a motion to approve the liquor license transfer, councilman Dale Harris jumped in with a question to the mayor and parties involved, “most of these people are [wanting a] workshop. Could we have everybody agree to do a workshop before moving on this?... This is a pretty small night (because of the weather), and a bunch of the town needs to be here to discuss it.”
“Can everyone live another 10 days to have a workshop,” Harris asked, with no one stating anything to the contrary after a moment’s pause.
Wells responded, “If you wanted a workshop, it should have been requested in the last few weeks.”
While mayor Ed Delgado insisted the council should take a vote, councilman Jeremiah Fields said he liked to the workshop idea. In the end, though mayor Ed Delgado urged the council several times to vote that night, in the end he agreed to a workshop to be set for a date the following week. That timeframe would be the soonest possible after a workshop advertisement could be posted and verifying with the Wyoming Liquor Division on the proper way to proceed with notifications, etc.
The mayor added, he is also tired of setting workshops to give the opportunity for public opinion, and only two or three people attending. He warned people if they didn’t show up, he would be very hesitant to call workshops in the future.
The Guernsey council came to the agreement of a workshop, after a motion by councilwoman Wells to approve the liquor license transfer did not have a second. A later motion was made by councilman Harris to table a decision until more information from the Wyoming liquor commission and host a special workshop by Feb. 28th. The motion carried with no verbal “no’s.”
It was anticipated the council would make a final decision by the next council meeting.
In final statements by the council at the conclusion of their meeting, councilman Fields said he appreciated everyone’s comments. “It is a very hard decision. As elected officials, we’ve got to watch out for our town and watch out for the people in it,” he said.
Field added he looked forward to the workshop and hearing the thoughts of people who were unable to make it to the public hearing. “Their opinion matters,” he added.
Councilwoman Wells emphasized in her closing comment, “Most of what has been said here tonight is speculation to what might happen… What we do know is Perkins’ have the right to sell, and the grocery store has a right to buy. I’m real disappointed in the fact the community came out in the way they did.”
Councilman Joe Michaels said he’d hold his comments until the next council meeting, the first Tuesday in March.

The Response
The following morning, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, Lynn’s Super Foods locked their doors, displaying a “Store Closing” sign on their front door and leaving the town’s residents no other choice but to go to the Dollar General or the gas stations for whatever items they can provide, or to travel out of town. For some who qualify, there are limited items available at the Guernsey Food Pantry. The nearest grocery stores are in Wheatland or in Torrington, a thirty-minute drive either way.
As to the store choosing to close, Ben’s Bar owner Wayne Perkins said it’s a “heartbreak.” Chris Sachanandani, co-owner of Crazy-Tony’s, said, “I know no one in town wanted a grocery store to close. That is not what we wanted when we voiced our opinion last night. If that’s truly the case (closing because of the comments at the meeting), it’s a shame it’s closing.”
“We just wanted to be heard on our viewpoint on the impact the liquor license will have on our business,” Sachanandani continued. “We don’t wish ill on the grocery store or [Ben’s Bar], we just wanted our voice to be heard and have a discussion, but it didn’t work out that way…and we have no ill feelings towards [any of the parties involved].”

Councilwoman Wells said after hearing the grocery store closed, she’s extremely mad and disgusted about the situation. “It’s a sad day for Guernsey,” she said, adding she felt strongly the council should have made a decision at the meeting rather than tabling it to hold a workshop, insisting there would have possibly been a better outcome.
“I feel bad, people complain about [prices at the local grocery store]. I wish they were lower too, but there are so many elderly people who have no other place to get groceries, and they don’t drive out of town. This affects the whole community, not just the bars,” Wells said.
“I am so disappointed the other councilmembers were not able to put on their big boy pants and make a decision last night,” Wells said, adding, now they need to “tell that lady she is not able to get groceries…maybe gas up a vehicle and offer to take [some of these people] out of town [for groceries] because you were being wishy-washy, you cost us a business in town.”
She said, “Do you people (who complained at the meeting) realize what you have done? You have put a nail in the economic coffin of the town.”
Wells concluded; the store closing is also one consequence of many people not shopping locally.

The future
Mayor Delgado said on Friday, he wanted to be clear that he was all for a vote during the meeting last Tuesday night. “The town council is elected to do a job, and they need to do it whether they like it or not. Since this council could not make the tough decisions, it came to where a decision was made to hold a workshop…it turned out the store had had enough.”
He continued, “the liquor license transfer would have kept two businesses afloat.”
Mayor Delgado said he is working on trying to convince some other business to take on the task of opening a grocery store in the town, and said he is in favor of seeing if any potential grocery store investor would purchase liquor license from Ben’s Bar if it’s still available at that time, in order to help them keep viable financially. “This town is lost without a store… it will also be hard on the (food) pantry because they (Lynn’s Superfoods) helped donate to the food bank.”
He emphasized he believes the council made a bad decision to not make a decision that night.
“I’ve had a lot of calls from citizens from the town about the store closing,” the mayor said, adding Camp Guernsey is one of those calls, inquiring as to where troops will be able to obtain food and supplies in Guernsey during the peak of the summer training program. He also said he was told of a house sale that was canceled – and two less children will be able to enter the local school system – because the family stated they wouldn’t move to a town without a grocery store.
“I am working on a couple things, and when I have more answers, I will be having a public meeting to discuss any new changes,” mayor Delgado said. “People’s lives in this town are affected, and it is terrible for our senior population here.”
In the meantime, there has already been a plan set in gear by the local senior center to help. Mistina Smith, site manager for Services for Seniors, Inc.’s senior center in Guernsey, said arrangements have been made for two shopping trips each month to go to Wheatland to get groceries, starting March 11 and 25. A trip to Cheyenne is also scheduled for March 18.
Smith said there is limited seating, and the priority is for local seniors (60 and older), but if there is room, they welcome other members of the community who need help to get out of town for groceries. They just need to get on a waiting list. Anyone interested in reserving a space or wanting more information can contact Smith at the senior center, or by calling 322-4741.
“Depending on the demand, we may try to get a third trip in,” Smith added.
Smith also reminded, there are also hot congregate lunches at the center each day the center is open, Monday through Friday, except for days the weather is too cold or icy. The center also keeps a few simple frozen meals that can be purchased by seniors to take home.
With the newness of the situation, it is unknown officially how many (or when) jobs may have been terminated with the Lynn’s Superfoods closure. Kim Jenkins of the Wheatland office of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services stated last Friday after an inquiry from the Record-Times, there had been no communication with her department concerning the closure, but after seeing the situation on social media she has been attempting to reach out with information to any potentially laid-off employees.
“Generally, we assist employees when a store closes, making them aware of the services and programs we offer. This happened so quickly, (and is still potentially evolving), we have not been involved at this time,” Jenkins said.
She encouraged anyone needing employment – or unemployment assistance – to reach out to Workforce services, whether it is connected to the situation in Guernsey or not. She said there are several services and resources her office can provide. For more information, contact Jenkins at 307-322-4741 or stop by 1958 W. Mariposa Parkway in Wheatland.