Bottom Dollar Cost Plus begins honoring all Kroger coupons

The Kroger Co. is good at something called "stealth marketing," tracking your purchases on the Kroger card, then baiting you with coupons that fit your buying habits.

Bottom Dollar Cost Plus Foods owner Tom Schmutz and Du Quoin store manager Steve Beard understand there is some latent connectivity between local shoppers and the old Du Quoin Kroger store.

You still get Kroger coupons in the mail from the days of using your Kroger Plus card at the Du Quoin store, or you may shop Kroger, on occasion, when you are in Carbondale or some other surrounding community that has a Kroger store.

Those relationships last in any industry.

If you remember, when Schmutz and wife Beverly made the commitment to open the Du Quoin store they put their whole heart into the project.

They promised a strong relationship with the community. They promised a great shopping experience. They promised fair, competitive prices.

In return for the investment Du Quoin made in them, they wanted to create jobs and return tax dollars back to the community. They have done all these things.

This week, they have taken their work one step farther.

Schmutz announced the Bottom Dollar Cost Plus store in Du Quoin is now accepting ALL Kroger coupons. That includes coupons from the smaller monthly mailings, the larger quarterly mailings, any newspaper coupons or printable coupons.

A large percentage of Kroger coupons are discounts on name brand items, produce and meats. Schmutz said the Du Quoin store carries most of those items and, in some cases, even a larger variety.

"If we don't have the exact item, we will discount the item we have that is closest to the Kroger item," Schmutz said.

Fresh Meat, Cheese and Salad Deli Opening Soon

More good news.

Schmutz said in the next two-to-three weeks the Du Quoin store will reopen the deli around the corner from the check-out aisles. The deli will offer freshly sliced lunch meats and cheeses and an assortment of cold salads. The deli already serves piping hot rotisserie chicken. There are no immediate plans to prepare other hot food items.

Schmutz thanked the community for its support this past year. He said 2015 will be filled with new ideas and, above all else, unprecedented attention to the customer.