In May, Strack & Van Til appointed Jeff Strack as president and chief executive officer of Northwest Indiana’s topmost local grocery chain. Strack had served as chief marketing officer and now steps in to lead Strack & Van Til’s over 6,000 employees and 38 locations in the Region and Chicagoland area.
His appointment marks the third generation of Strack’s to head the company after his father and grandfather (Ernie Strack) who established the first Strack & Van Til store in 1960 with Nick Van Til. Strack has fond memories of growing up with the business and working for the company was always something he wanted to do.
“My earliest recollections of the business are going to the stores with my dad on Sundays because we were still closed back then,” Strack said. “We would go and check on the refrigeration, let the floor crews out who would work midnights and just be running around the closed store.”
“As I’ve grown up, it’s always been something I wanted to do. From being a young kid wanting to go to work with my dad and looking forward to Saturday’s going to the office.”
Strack started his first job as a utility clerk with Strack & Van Til after 8th grade during the summer. He eventually worked his way through all of the departments during his high school years before heading off to college.
“After college I basically started all over again,” Strack said. “The only job that I’ve had is working at Strack & Van Til for all these years.”
Being able to start from the ground up and to get good, hands on experience at every level in the store was incredibly valuable to Strack, and that knowledge has helped guide him in his decision making.
“From a business aspect, I’ve learned that all components of the business are important to making it successful,” said Strack. “You’re successful because of the people that work those jobs. From our newest employees who may be bagging and carrying out groceries to senior executives, we all have a vital and important role in the success of the organization.”
“We all can influence the customers experience in our stores. That’s why one of the things I tell our associates is, ‘do whatever you have to do to provide our customers a great shopping experience.”
Strack & Van Til takes great pride in their involvement in the communities in which they serve and that is something that has been important to the Highland-based grocer for generations.
“That goes back to my grandfather (Ernie Strack) and Mr. (Nick) Van Til,” Strack said when reflecting on the company’s long history of supporting causes and community organizations.
“They always believed in supporting the communities that we service, because without those communities we wouldn’t be here. It’s part of our corporate fabric where we want to help support organizations and events that actually enhance the quality of life for people that live in them. Our involvement is widespread throughout Northwest Indiana and we’re happy to be good neighbors to our customers.”
When Strack looks to the future and an ever changing world, he’s looking to continue to grow and develop Strack & Van Til.
“When I look at the future, we want to continue to reinvest in our stores to make sure they remain relevant to today’s consumer needs and desires,” he said. “We want to continue to expand our store base and find ways to even come up with different concepts to drive our sales.”
Strack has seen other stores and chains come and go and how that creates the misconception that there’s less competition out there.
“I believe that there’s more competition, it’s just different competition. That’s why it’s so important for us to reinvest in our stores and to keep reinventing our business model so we find ways to make our stores a place where customers want and need to go.”
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