Leprekon set to open new store in June

May 22, 2025

By: Katherine Trowbridge

Pictured - is the new LepreKon Harvest Foods Grocery Store in Connell with some finishing touches being put on the building.

Nearly a year in the making, the time has come for the new Connell Lep-Re-kon Harvest Foods to open to the public. The new building saw finishing touches going up on the outside on Monday, May 19, as the Graphic spoke once again with Andrew Montemayor to catch up on the progress.

Montemayor’s parents, Joe and Timo, purchased the Connell Store in 2003. Joe began as a courtesy clerk in the 1980’s. Their sons, Andrew and Michael, also work for the company, with Andrew serving as general manager and Michael as vice president. The family is from Othello, and knows the value of a small town. Montemayor said, “We love Connell” going on to state that they want to grow with the community and the new store is evidence of that commitment.

“We’re excited and we’re getting so close,” Montemayor shared, “We’re just ready. It seems like it’s been a long time. But construction takes time. The construction company has been really good to work with and the city has helped us quite a bit.”

He said that the current store, in all its disarray, will be closing at the end of day on Tuesday, June 10 and the new store is set to open on Wednesday, June 11. Montemayor went on to state there will be some issues with parking at first but they will “try to make the transition as smooth as possible.”

The current store is set to be demolished, so the fencing will shift from the new store to the old. At first, items will be removed from inside the old store and within about 10 days from its closure, full demolition will commence.

In the meantime, Montemayor stated, “We ask customers to bear with us as much as possible.”

They have secured parking with the city, in advance, by scheduling to rent the parking area at the Connell Community Center. However, this is located behind the new store so it will be a bit of a walk to the entrance, at first. He also stated there will be limited parking available along the street as well.

The rental agreement is for three months, as the old building is demolished and parking extended where it is located.

“Once all is said and done we will have a big parking lot,” Montemayor expressed.

The new store is already beginning to be stocked as pallets are being delivered.

Of the new store, he reiterated their goals of bringing a “modern feel to the community” while adding “more variety of options to customers that they may not have had before.” With a variety of products in an expanded layout, the new store will be much larger than what we are used to and feature more checkouts.

With a larger store comes the need for more employees, the Connell store has already begun the hiring process.

The current staff also shared their excitement for the new store, as have many in the community.

“We’re really excited and hope the customers love it. We’re ready to go. We’re at the finish line,” Montemayor added.

A Grand Opening Celebration is likely to come, once the parking lot is complete.