SouthDakotaPedia™ - The Ultimate Internet South Dakota Encyclopedia - G F Buche Company

In 1904, Gus Francis Buche, who was working for Bob Ryder in Darlington, Wisconsin responded to a help wanted ad in Lake Andes. He was offered the job to work for Charles and Herman Moneke at Lake Andes, South Dakota. When it came time for Gus to tell Mr. Ryder that he was quitting and taking a job at a general store, he asked Gus how much he was getting paid. Gus responded by telling him we would be receiving $40.00 per month. Upon hearing this, Bob Ryder gasped and said, "Holy Cow, can you get me a job too?" Gus worked at the business for the Monekes just a few short months before buying it and starting his future on his own in 1905.

GF Buche Co. had 21 stores during his career. Locations of those stores were Wagner, Springfield, Kingsburg, Tyndall, Parkston, Parker, Geddes, Platte, Scottland, Delmont, Yankton, Madison, Tripp, Gregory, Lake Andes, Ravinia, Centerville, Mitchell, Sioux Falls, Cherokee and Washta, IA. 17 of these stores were in operation at one time. The majority of these locations were grocery stores.

Many of those stores closed during the depression in the 1930’s Gus was a believer in supporting each community and each community’s bank. The depression caused most of these town’s banks to shut down and GF Buche Co. lost all of its money in those banks. However, even though stores were shut down, Gus Buche paid 100% of every invoice and all were paid on time.

1914 – GF Buche Co. was incorporated on August 20th. Stockholders included Gus Francis Buche, Ray Conlon, John A. Michaelson, and A. M. Shaw.

1930 - Cake baked by the Lake Andes Bakery for the Buche Co's 25th Anniversary

1938 – Buche’s in Mitchell was opened. A small warehouse for soft goods was also located in the same building on South Main in Mitchell. At this time, the headquarters was moved from Lake Andes to Mitchell. The store carried both groceries and clothing during it existence until 1987.

1954 – GF Buche Co. sold the Lake Andes location to Nick Kallas and Max Becker. Gus probably hoped GF Buche Co. would be in Lake Andes again someday but probably never dreamed it would be 50 years later in the form of a convenience store named after him. The Lake Andes "Gus Stop" is a very special location to GF Buche Co.

1955 – Bob Buche Sr. became president of GF Buche Co.

1963 – Built new store in Gregory, SD.

1964 – Built new store in Wagner, SD.

1973 – Built Dog n’ Suds restaurant in Wagner, SD. Later, name was changed to the Lunch Bucket. The location was sold to Booms in 1986.

1975 – Gus Francis Buche died on March 6th at the age of 93.

1975 – Purchased and remodeled the Mission location.

1976 – Robert Buche Jr. became president of GF Buche Co.

1978 – Purchased the O’Neill store which later became GF Buche Co. headquarters until it was sold to Hinky Dinky in 1992. It was in O’Neill where Greg Buche was instrumental in switching GF Buche Co. headquarters from longhand accounting to the computer age.

1983 – Buche’s in Ainsworth, NE was opened with Brad and Jeff Buche as the first managers. Ainsworth was closed in 1998.

1983 – An electrical fire destroyed the Gregory location. The location was built in the same place it was and where it still exists today.

1985 – GF Buche Co. bought a location in Chamberlain, SD. This location was managed by stockholder, Pat O’Connell who had previously managed in Wagner for many years. The Chamberlain store was sold in 1995.

1991- GF Buche Co. Mission location had a fire caused by arson. The location reopened in August of the same year in the same location.

1994 – GF Buche Co. purchased a local grocery store named Higgins IGA in North Sioux City, IA. Because the Buche name was not known in Iowa, the store was named Jamboree Foods, a license agreement of Fleming Foods who was the supplier of GF Buche Co. at the time. The store was sold to Family Dollar in 2002.

1994 – Gus Francis Buche was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame for Business. His son and second generation, Bob Buche Sr. accepted the award.

1994 – Buche’s in Wagner had an electrical fire damaging most of the location. Coincidentally, this fire was 11 years ago to the day of the fire in Gregory. However, the store was totally remodeled and reopened in August of 1995.

1995 – GF Buche Co. bought a hardware store in Mission located next to the grocery store. It was named Hardware Hank.

1995 - President RF Buche and Daughter Molly Buche (Fourth Generation Buche).

1998 – GF Buche Co. converted the Hardware Hank location in Mission to a new line of business for the Buche Co. The "Gus Stop" convenience store, named after the founder of GF Buche Co., Gus Buche, was opened that same year. The store was originally branded Texaco but was changed to Sinclair in 2005.

2000 – RF Buche, the fourth generation of Buche’s, became president of GF Buche Co.

2000 – GF Buche Co. opened its second convenience store in White River, SD. The C-Store was originally branded Conoco but was converted to Sinclair in 2005.

2001 – GF Buche Co. purchased a location in Spencer, IA. Many stores in Iowa were using the "Jubilee" Fleming Foods license agreement so Buche’s were able to save some on some advertising and name recognition. The store was called "Buche’s Jubilee". Because GF Buche Co. sold the Sioux City, IA location, they felt the Spencer location was out of their trade area. Consequently, this store was sold in 2003.

2004 – GF Buche Co. finally came home. A "Gus Stop" convenience store in Lake Andes was opened. It was branded Sinclair.

2005 - 100 year celebrations were held in both Wagner and Gregory. Four generations of Buche's were on hand - Robert Sr., Robert Jr., RF, and daughter Molly.

2005 - The old Dog n' Suds comes back home. The Booms building in Wagner was purchased across from the grocery store. It was named "Bob's Liquor" and had video lottery and off sale liquor.

May, 2005 Media Highlight (requires Adobe® Reader® to view.)

August, 2005 Media Highlight (requires Adobe® Reader® to view.)

2005 – Named SBA Small Business of the Year.

2006 - Bob's Liquor was converted to Gus Stop when pumps were added. The location had all basis covered with Godfather's Pizza express, fuel, off sale liquor, video lottery and convenience store items.

2006 - All Gus Stops were de-branded from Sinclair.

2006 – Added Godfather’s Express to Gus Stop 4

2007 – Completed 5000 square foot addition to the Mission grocery store location. The expansion was done to the east butting the grocery store right up against the Gus Stop. The addition allowed us more room for beverages, office space, and every other department including grocery variety.

2007 – Purchased Express 24 in Mission, SD. E24 is a pay at the pump only fuel center located on main street of Mission.

2008 – Purchased Floral Impressions in Wagner. The Wagner grocery store and did a major remodel adding nearly 4000 square foot of space to include Floral Impressions, a coffee (Beanz) and a Mexican (Mexi-go) concept. All departments and grocery space were expanded. Headquarter offices were moved to the Floral Impressions building on main street of Wagner.