Dan Wagner of Adams does more than own a chain of grocery stores — he mentors aspiring entrepreneurs who show they have what it takes to succeed.

It was for that reason that Dan Wagner, CEO of Wagner Foods, Inc., was awarded the Outstanding Grocery Award, a recognition given each year by the Minnesota Grocers Association (MGA) to an individual who shows they can run a successful business and give back to those in the community at the same time.

Dan Wagner and his wife, Shari Wagner, are the owner of six regional community grocery stores, five of which are owned and run by Adams residents.

The Wagners got their start at the Adams grocery store now known as Heimer Foods. The couple didn’t set out to make it big in the grocery world — it just happened that way.

“Once it started, the ball just started rolling, I guess,” Dan Wagner said.

The couple initially moved back to Adams from Milwaukee, where Dan Wagner was working in finance, to raise their family. At the time, Dan Wagner’s father was the owner of the store. Considering he was already familiar with the operations, it was an opportunity to put his financial skills to use in a setting he was used to.

As time went on, Dan and Shari Wagner began to look at their hard working and loyal employees as potential partners who could help them expand.

It’s a business model that has worked well for the Wagners, who know ahead of time the people they’re going into business with. As Shari Wagner explained, everyone wins. Those they partner with have a vested interest in the success of their store, as do the Wagners.

“It gives them opportunities to start a career,” Shari Wagner said.

It also helps to have a network of individuals working under the same umbrella of management, as certain projects, such as advertising, can be shared assignments.

“It allows us to operate more efficiently and work with each other,” Dan Wagner said. “We do operate as a group.”

Helping employees grow professionally comes naturally to Dan, who said it “made sense” to guide and teach others to success.

The idea for the Wagners is to get to a point where they can step back from their operations and allow their partners and owners of the grocery stores to run with it.

While the real sense of accomplishment has come from the successful expansion of Wagner Foods, Inc., Dan Wagner said the award is an honor.

Dan Wager was given the award in August in front of a group of around 450 of his peers in the grocery business, many of whom have served as mentors for the Wagners.

“It was very exciting,,” he said, “seeing some of our friends, our peers and people we’ve learned things from.”

The Wagners are involved in a network of grocers from the around the state who help one another out and offer advice. It’s through partnerships like that, and partnerships with those who they’ve worked with inside their store, that has helped them continue to carry on with their mission.

“Our philosophy is to be clean, friendly and competitively priced,” Dan Wagner said. “We want to take care of our customers.”

Wagner Foods, Inc. store owners and partners

Heimer Foods, Adams Curt and Lisa Heimer

Wells Market Place, Wells, Minn. Bruce Mandler

Wagner Foods, New Richland, Minn. Pete Wagner

Island Market, Pine Island, Minn.. Chris Wanger

Marketplace Foods, Watertown, Minn. Jim May