HardlinesStrategies_Fall_2024

CUSTOMER PROFILE

Finding the Right Fit

How Prickly Pear Farm & Home Reinvented a Community Business

Ellie Bowman (right) co-owns Prickly Pear Farm & Home with her parents Jeannine (left) and Jimbob. The trio are giving the store a new life with investments in hardlines and gifts.

E llie Bowman wasn’t initially sure what she would do with her agribusiness degree after she graduated from Kansas State University. Having lived and worked on her family’s farm in rural Edwards County, Kansas, her entire life, she knew there would be opportunity in the field, but fate gave her a different path.

But Ellie had a plan to make it their own. It started with a new name: Prickly Pear Farm & Home. Known as “midway USA,” Kinsley is halfway between New York City and San Francisco. Many businesses in the area use midway in their name, but Ellie wanted to stand out. She loves cactuses and thought a name like prickly pear would be unique and provide an opportunity for fun marketing. The next phase was to get started on the business. “Victor and his business partner Donald Strong ran the business together for 35 years,” Ellie says. “When we took over, we knew we wanted to make some improvements.”

When a neighbor suggested to her dad Jimbob that he could take over the local lumberyard “if he were a little younger,” Ellie knew what she had to do. “It was like a light bulb went off,” she says. “I told my parents I thought it was a great opportunity for us to take over the business and keep it open for the community.” Jimbob quit his job of 15 years in maintenance, and the Bowman family, including Ellie’s mom Jeannine, bought S&K Building Center in Kinsley, Kansas, from the previous owner Victor Kurth. He helped the family learn the ins and outs of the operation, including bringing them as his guests to a Blish-Mize Buying Market in 2022.

28 Fall 2024 • Hardlines Strategies