Reed City Feed & Supply is a local animal feed store that occupies a historic building, originally built in 1907.
Herald photo/Dylan SchwartzREED CITY — Animal feed and farm essentials line the walls of a historic grain elevator Jill Terryn and Michelle Nicklas have turned into a local mainstay for outdoor goods in Reed City.
The owners of Reed City Feed & Supply bought the building in 2017. Seeing a historic grain elevator left to rot implored them to purchase it and provide a service to an area rich with farmers and outdoor enthusiasts.
"This place has been here, as far as we can find, since 1907. So it was built in the early 1900s, when this was a dirt road," Terryn said.
Terryn said customers are generally very friendly and usually in a good mood when they come in and enjoy chatting with them while they assess their needs.
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Reed City Feed & Supply is a local animal feed store that occupies a historic building, originally built in 1907. Owners Jill Terryn and Michelle Nicklas bought the historic building in 2017.
Herald photo/Dylan Schwartz
"Because they see the value in that we have here, as opposed to big box store, we can usually get almost anything they need," Terryn said.
Terryn thinks that with everything going on in the last few years, many people in Reed City have reverted back to the simple life, growing crops and raising livestock.
"It's good for everybody," Terryn said.
Reed City Feed & Supply works closely with the local 4-H organization, as Nicklas is a group leader and both owners' kids are part of it. The kids involved in 4-H buy feed and supplies from Reed City Feed & Supply, and Terryn makes it a point to give back to them in return for the hard work they do taking care of these animals.
"It is good to support them at a young age," Terryn said.
The money the kids' make is set aside "to help them with college, and they're earning every bit of it. So it's all good," Terryn said.
"I love this small community," Terryn said. "We all support each other."
Terryn knows it's important to support the youth because "they're our future," she said, and it's important for them to learn to take care of animals because it teaches them hard work and empathy.
Above all else, Terryn and Nicklas want to support the community they're a part of.
"We're here to support each other. Whatever they have going on, we're in business for them," Terryn said.
Nicklas said since building the business from the ground up, (they renovated a lot of the interior of the building once they acquired it) her favorite thing about it has been the community support.
"I feel like most people in this community want to support small businesses. Everybody tries to work together to support each other. That's a great thing," Nicklas said.
