1.1A Senate resolution
1.2celebrating the 40th anniversary of Kowalski's Markets.
1.3WHEREAS, Jim and Mary Anne Kowalski purchased their first grocery store, a Saint Paul
1.4Red Owl store on Grand Avenue, in 1983 and later purchased a White Bear Lake Red Owl location
1.5in 1986, converting it to a Kowalski's Market; and
1.6WHEREAS, in August 2000, Jim and Mary Anne opened the first Kowalski's Markets store
1.7to be built from the ground up. This new Woodbury location was designed to look like a European
1.8village, and featured a glass-walled bakery oven, three restaurant concepts, a gift shop, an educational
1.9and meeting area, a full-service JUUT Salonspa, and a Natural Path department offering organic
1.10and natural foods. The new store, which attracted worldwide attention within the grocery industry,
1.11was inspired in part by a trip the Kowalskis took to Italy; and
1.12WHEREAS, Kowalski's Markets continued to differentiate itself from the big chain grocery
1.13stores, both by offering high-quality, hard-to-find products and by leading the way in making
1.14donations to food shelves. Jim and Mary Anne's daughter, Kris Kowalski-Christiansen, started at
1.15the company as a cashier and went on to become CEO; and
1.16WHEREAS, there are currently 11 Kowalski's Markets in the Twin Cities area, from Stillwater
1.17to Eagan to historic downtown Excelsior. Kowalski's Markets is certified by the Women's Business
1.18Enterprise National Council as a women-owned business; and
1.19WHEREAS, the Kowalski family has received some of the highest honors in the grocery
1.20industry. Jim Kowalski was named Minnesota Grocer of the Year in 1990, Mary Anne Kowalski
1.21was named National Grocers Association Woman of the Year in 2002, Mary Anne Kowalski and
1.22Kris Kowalski-Christiansen were both named Entrepreneur of the Year in the Upper Midwest, and
1.23Jim and Mary Anne Kowalski received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Minnesota Grocers
1.24Association in 2021; and
1.25NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the State of Minnesota that it
1.26honors the Kowalski family for their 40 years of outstanding performance in the grocery industry.
1.27BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is directed to prepare an
1.28enrolled copy of this resolution, to be authenticated by the Secretary's signature and that of the
1.29Chair of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, and transmit it to the Kowalski family.

Tom BotternSecretary of the Senate

Kari DziedzicChair, Senate Committee onRules and Administration

Nicole L. MitchellState Senator, District 47