Just one day after they officially opened the doors, Casey’s General Store in Winnebago was celebrating with an open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony.

On Friday, March 13, members of the community were treated to refreshments and special deals as part of the grand opening.

Winnebago Mayor Randy Nowak called the store a “Super Casey’s.”

“I want to thank Casey’s for coming to town and investing in Winnebago,” Nowak told the crowd at the ribbon cutting ceremony.

Chamber of Commerce President Scott Robertson echoed those sentiments.

“This is awesome,” he said. “Having a new business open on our Main Street, creating 17 new jobs, is a big deal here.”

The new Casey’s local manager, Bert Howard, says she is thrilled to be a part of the community.

Howard, who moved from Elysian to manage the store, says there may be more people hired than just the 17 so far.

“We have been busy, and pleased with the response of the community,” she says.

The new Casey’s in Winnebago is larger than the rest of the facilities the company owns.

“This is a new design for us,” says Casey’s Regional Manager Teresa Garrett. “It is considerably larger. We call it our ‘O’ design.”

Garrett says Casey’s corporate office has gone through an A through D design in the past.

“We skipped to the letter ‘O,’ in part because of the circular design inside,” she says.

She explains that Mayor Nowak was correct – it is a super store.

“Everything is larger, from the restrooms and floor space, to the coolers and kitchen area,” she explains.

Casey’s looks for small towns on major highways in order to locate new stores, Garrett says.

“Winnebago fit us well,” the regional manager said at the grand opening. “The community was easy to work with.”

Garrett oversees nine stores, with two in Minnesota. As of February of last year, Casey’s had 1,463 stores in nine states.

Casey’s was started in 1968 by Don Lamberti in Boone, Iowa. He named his store after his friend, K.C. Fish, who had advised him to purchase the gas station and remodel it into a convenience store.

The original store still sports the first logo, which is still used and is on the sign at the newest store, in Winnebago.

In 1990, the corporate office was moved to Ankeny, Iowa, where it is still located.