South Dakota’s 2020 Small Business Person of the Year bought a meat locker in Clark in 2009 and expanded it into a meat-retailing and restaurant operation called Dakota Butcher.
The company has five locations in eastern South Dakota and employs 70 people. Owner Randy Gruenwald said he and his wife, Karen, believe in a simple philosophy.
“Our goal is to provide the highest quality product we can provide to our customer, with excellent service at a fair price," he said. "I think everyone can agree that this is what most people want.”
Gruenwald was one of several people and businesses honored Tuesday by the South Dakota office of the U.S. Small Business Administration, in conjunction with National Small Business Week. Jaime Wood, SBA's South Dakota district director, emceed a virtual ceremony.
"Today we want to recognize the hard work, risk-taking and creativity that are the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs," Wood said.
According to Wood, 99 percent of the businesses in South Dakota are classified as small businesses, and 58 percent of South Dakotans either work for a small business or own a small business. There are about 88,000 small businesses in the state, Wood said.
Here are the rest of the awards presented Tuesday:
- Small Business Exporter of the Year- Danny Dale, Advanced Sunflower LLC, Huron
- Family-Owned Small Business of the Year- Sioux Nation Ag Center, Joseph & Brian Swenson, Sioux Falls
- Veteran-Owned Small Business of the Year- VRC Metal Systems, Robert Hrabe, Box Elder
- Woman-Owned Small Business of the Year- Laura Bonsness, About You Physical Therapy, Rapid City
- Young Entrepreneur of the Year- Matthew Beukelman, Rapid Fitness, Dell Rapids
- Small Business Champion of the Year- Matt Paulson, MarketBeat, Sioux Falls
- 7(a) Loan Volume Lender of the Year- Wells Fargo Bank
- 7(a) Dollar Volume Lender of the Year- The First National Bank in Sioux Falls
- 504 Dollar & Loan Volume Certified Development Company of the Year- Dakota BUSINESS Finance
-Seth Tupper is SDPB's business and economic development reporter.
