Anyone living in a small rural town keenly feels the absence of a grocery store. Ashton was one of those small town which, for the last few years, has not had a grocery store for the convenience of those last minute supplies we all need. For many years Ashton did have a thriving small store but with the introduction of several large ‘big box’ stores in the area, many small Ashton Gains a Grocery Store by Cheri Kemp
stores were not able to keep their doors open. As the years passed, the once busy grocery store closed and re- opened under a couple of different owners. Most recently, Lirim Mimini, decided to remodel, and re-think how to make a small town grocery store viable. On November 10, Lirim opened Mimini’s General Store. In addition to the usual grocery items, he also has a lunch counter where you are able to buy cold meals; he has also sectioned off a part of the store for slot machines and has a license to serve alcohol in that area. This new re-creation of a gro- cery store might just be the ticket to success. For success, you need to step back a few years to where Lirim and his family started, in Communist Albania. Lirim said in 1949 his grandfather (Lirim’s dad’s father) came to the United States but the rest of the family was still in Albania. Due to the Eastern European Communist Block, Lirim’s grandfather could not return to Albania and Lirim’s father could not leave Albania to come to the US. “We were American before we were American” said Lirim in referencing the fact that his grandfather had resided in the US since 1949. Lirim said “Once the Berlin wall came down in 1989, things started to change. It took several years, but my grandfather started the petition pro- cess in 1992 to get us out of Albania and to the United States. Finally in 1995 we were allowed to leave.” Lirim and his family lived in Amboy, Il, once they left Albania. Lirim’s grandfather had a restaurant in Amboy at the corner of Rt. 52 & Rt 30, which was a popular stop for many people. In May 1998 Lirim graduated from Amboy High School and in October 1998 (yes, he was just turning 19 years old), Lirim bought The Huddle, an Ashton mainstay restaurant. Now 21 years later, not only has Lirim continued to run the restaurant, he has also earned his Masters Degree in Translation & Business. He has a Masters in Spanish and minor in Italian. On occa- sion, Lirim is called to put his linguistic skills to work by doing court interpreting in Lake & Cook County court systems. Another accomplishment to add to his tool belt is that he teaches two classes at Sauk Valley Community College in Dixon. You might think someone whose native language is Albanian might be teaching something other than a language class but not Lirim. He teaches Spanish. He is also a part-time ICAP Adult Education coordinator at SVCC and just this December was inducted to the Lee County Board on the finance committee.
For those of you that might work with Lily Refatllari on first shift in the Pro- duction Department, here is a good piece of trivia. Lily is Lirim’s twin sister. As I was leaving the store, I asked Lirim one last question: Have you thought about offering hot meals at your lunch counter? His quick answer was “No, that guy up the street that runs the Huddle wouldn’t like it very much!” We at Crest Foods and the surrounding community wish Lirim great suc- cess with the opening of Mimini’s General Store because we ALL have felt the sting of disappointment when we need that one last item for our meal or dessert we are making. Now we only need walk or drive a short dis- tance to find just what we need at Mimini’s General Store.
Lirim Mimini with his store manager, Kristie Knetch
January, February & March 2017 Crest Ink 23
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