Casey Connor has been in the grocery business since he was 16 years old.

Starting out sorting bottles and cans in Iowa for refunds, Connor has also worked as a bagger, a cashier and most recently as manager.

About four weeks ago, he began as the new store manager of the Nelson’s Market Place in Albert Lea. Prior to this, he had been the manager of the Nelson’s in Faribault.

He said he came to the Albert Lea store after he and former Albert Lea Nelson’s manager Randy Pirkl switched stores to bring some fresh ideas to each store.

“Not everything I do is going to work,” he said. “But I believe if you’re not failing, you’re not trying.”

Connor and Pirkl both live in Owatonna. They will rotate stores every few years, Connor said.

The manager said many of the changes he plans to implement will be small, but they will keep things fresh.

For one, he hopes to be able to bring some Chinese food to the Albert Lea location like there is in Faribault. Also, in the next three weeks, he will be bringing in Blockbuster videos.

At some point, he’d also like to see an expansion of Curt’s Pharmacy, which has outgrown its space, he added.

Some products are also being reset, and the store will have a big focus on fresh foods, including fresh produce and fresh baked items.

These are only a few of the changes.

Some of the changes made will be to go toward new trends that were started in the Faribault store, Connor said.

“We bring both of our traits to the store,” he said of he and Pirkl. “We try to empower the people.

“Change is always good. There’s some ideas I’ve got, and there’s some ideas Randy’s got.”

Connor — who grew up in Wisconsin, moved to Iowa and then went to college in Missouri — is married with two children. His children are currently attending Riverland Community College.

He said he formerly worked at Hy-Vee for 21 years and has been at Nelson’s Market Place for about 4 1/2 years.

He said Nelson’s has 130 full-time and part-time employees.

According to the company Web site, the business is a third generation family-owned grocery store. The Faribault store was established in 1952, and the Albert Lea location has been in business since 1982.

It can be found at 1619 West Main St. in Albert Lea, and at 430 NW Second Ave. in Faribault.