PEORIA, Ill. — Two-store owners Shonta Simmons and her husband Willie are akin to fire and ice, peanut butter and jelly—all rolled into one cohesive team.
The co-owners of N & Out Market and companion store TNT Outlet Store, both in Peoria, Ill., are opposites united in a singular mission: to provide fresh, healthy foods to local residents and establish a position as community advocates.
Willie Simmons’ background blends an affinity for foodservice/menu creativity with project-management skills honed while working for Caterpillar. “Willie is good in areas such as building construction, infrastructure and architecture, as well as having an innate ability to create menus based around healthy and culinary food,” Shonta (pronounced Shon-TAY), tells CSP Daily News.
Shonta Simmons has a significant background in business management, accounting and operations, skills she carries out in her day-to-day efforts working for Caterpillar, where the couple met.
Their one-two punch of competence led the Simmons to make a foray into retail operations in early 2021, and the local Peoria community is all the better for it.
N & Out Market and TNT Outlet Store are designed to be complementary to one another: The c-store offers a full array of standard goods and services, while TNT Outlet breaks out its sales 60% grocery merchandising and 40% apparel and clothing. The stores, which both underwent significant rehab work before their openings in 2021, are about 6 miles apart, with both having about 1,300 square feet of interior space.
Local Roots
Willie Simmons hails from Peoria, while Shonta traces her roots to Mississippi.
“Our vision is that whether you’re selling food, clothing or apparel, the overarching idea is that you’re always part of the service industry,” says Shonta Simmons. “We always preach is to never settle for offering customers the status quo but to go a cut above.”
The retailers’ vision is also grounded in giving back. “That’s our passion, especially crucial on the south side of Peoria, which has been neglected and lacks a civic energy. There’s a gap between [what’s available] in our part of town and the other parts of Peoria. We’re eager to close that gap.”
Backing up their words with actions, the Simmons are working with local health-care provider Oak Street Health Peoria to make it easy for residents to get screened for all types of health conditions, including heart health and diabetes.
“We made it our goal to meet people where they are,” Simmons said. “The partnership is one way to accomplish that. We truly want to help save lives on the front end with these basic screenings. I don’t think the average person correlate a c-store with saving lives, … but we want to be an exception.”
As the retailers enter their second year in business, several key and sustainable aspects of the Simmons’ narrative include:
Acute focus and synergy: The mindset was to debut not one but two retail locations in the south quadrant of Peoria. And, similar to the Simmons’ penchant for complementing each other, both stores do, as well. TNT Outlet places an emphasis on groceries and clothing/apparel merchandising. N & Out Market is a pure c-store that also offers an impressive foodservice profit center. One opportunity going forward is delivery: the Simmons are eager to establish this service to predominantly serve a nearby retirement village, enabling elderly residents to access a one-stop shop of goods procured from both stores.
Quasi-remote operation: One interesting aspect of the Simmons’ operating mode is that they have dual residency in Illinois and Georgia. Shonta, who still works at Caterpillar, spends more time in the Southeast. “Often, Willie will spend more time at the stores, buts I come back and forth as I can,” she says. Shonta Simmons says she relies on Zoom conferencing and remote surveillance camera software, so even 900 miles away she can stay abreast of day-to-day operations. “We have competent people trained so that the two of us can ease back and perhaps work remote together. COVID-19 taught us ways to be creative and establish outside-the-box thinking.”
Carnival atmosphere: At N & Out Market, the motif the Simmons established is a carnival-oriented vibe that offers types of food and drink that one might find walking the Atlantic City boardwalk. Carnival-inspired foods include lemonade shake-ups, funnel cakes, chili cheese dogs and fries. Separately, N & Out Market merchandises whole catfish, buffalo fish, wings, chicken tenders and okra. “With a carnival-like atmosphere, we want to put people’s minds in a positive place—like when people attend a carnival and don’t have a care in the world. We once planned to ‘dumb down’ the menu but then decided to go for it and pivoted to expand the menu significantly.”
It’s about the food: The couple regards the market as a way to help solve the food desert and food insecurity crisis in the south end of Peoria. Hard assets to support foodservice includes a flattop grill, three fryers, funnel-cake machine and more. The store offers different types of cereals, vegetarian meals and options for people who are lactose-intolerant. “We try and create an environment where people can feel like it’s home,” says Simmons. The couple plans to eventually construct a walk-up window so they can close the store while having one or two workers onsite to serve food past midnight while maintaining safety and security.
In 2022 and beyond, Simmons says she and her husband are poised to become shape shifters in a community that sorely needs a booster. “We came here with a fresh perspective about how we can make a positive impact locally,” she says. “One goal is to demonstrate to Black teenagers that they have a real chance to thrive as entrepreneurs—using Willie and me as examples. We’re very eager to transform the minds of the kids and tell them, ‘Hey, you can do this’.”
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