Whether it’s the chance to compete against the world’s best bodybuilders in the Mr. Olympia competition or running your own grocery store by the age of 30, the Grimes brothers have learned the value of hard work and determination.
“My parents always made it a point that nothing will be handed to you. We worked hard to get where we are and I think that helps give you a real appreciation for the things you have,” says Jesse Grimes, the owner of Sobeys in Gravenhurst.
Jesse took over the grocery store, one of the busiest in Muskoka, just under two years ago. Meanwhile, his brother Regan is an elite-level bodybuilder with over 1.8 million followers on Instagram, and a top 20 finish at the 2021 Mr. Olympia along with numerous other bodybuilding accolades.
For the Grimes brothers, the road to their current success started modestly enough in their hometown of Lindsay, Ontario.
Looking for a way to get started earning some money, Jesse first considered the traditional route of a summer job.
“I couldn’t get a job at 14 so I decided I’d make my own job. I started a business operating vending machines,” says Jesse. “My dad would drive me down to Toronto and I would buy them there and set them up around town. By the time I was 18, I had sold the business and was able to put a down payment on a new house.”
In the meantime, Jesse had picked up a job on the side working at a grocery store in Lindsay.
“By the time I was 15 I told my parents I wanted to one day own a grocery store,”
The brothers also spent their teenage years racing Motocross and playing hockey, where Jesse played goal for the Lindsay Muskies/Fleming Knights. Jesse says Regan also played hockey but his athletic passion lay elsewhere.
“He was such an incredibly gifted natural athlete but my parents would have to drag him to the games,” says Jesse.
Regan eventually went to school at Fanshawe College but it wasn’t long before he realized he was headed for a different path.
“We went to visit him there and he said school just wasn’t for him. He told my parents he was done and said he was going to become a famous bodybuilder,” says Jesse. “I think I might have laughed when he said it because it was such a crazy idea.”
Back in Lindsay, Jesse says he went to hear grocery store owner Mark Knoester speak and it was a real turning point in his life. Knoester was the owner and operator of the Fenelon Falls Sobey’s store for more than 20 years and he became something of a mentor to Jesse.
“I went to work for him at his Fenelon Falls store as an employee and I learned so much along the way,” he says. He also met his future wife Rebecca at the store when she was a customer in the store. The couple now have a 9-year-old son and a 5-year-old daughter, who are now involved in a number of local sports themselves.
Jesse’s next move was to North Bay where he became a manager and won the Sobey’s Manager of the Year award. By the age of 27 he opened a new store in Pickering and three years later when the opportunity came up to own the Gravenhurst store, he jumped.
“I wanted somewhere where I could put down some roots and really have some quality family time,” he says. “So far it’s been incredible. I’m getting to know a lot of the community organizations around Gravenhurst and we’re working with Gravenhurst Against Poverty.
The store is one of the busiest in Muskoka and with a 236-unit residential development set for completion directly beside Sobey’s later this year it will only get busier.
Jesse says the staff have welcomed him in and being able to develop those personal connections is the most rewarding part of the job.
“I really enjoy seeing people succeed. I try to help out and mentor my staff whenever I can, the same way people did for me when I was younger,” he says. “If you can change someone’s life for the better even a little bit it’s an incredible feeling.”
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