Online rumors that swirled about what was happening at the Dick’s Fresh Market and Dick’s Hometown Liquor location in River Falls can be put to rest as Ptacek’s is coming to the city.

Patrick Ptacek and his brother Raphael Ptacek are purchasing both Dick’s Fresh Market and Dick’s Hometown Liquor with the plan to open July 9.

The stores will be called Ptacek’s Family Market and Ptacek’s Family Liquor.

Pat Ptacek said there is a lot of work to do on the paperwork, licensing and permit side of the business, but they are excited to make their mark on the community.

“It’s a great location, it’s an amazing community, we have some ties out there already,” Ptacek said. “Everything fit right on this one.”

The gas and liquor will remain at the site, but due to permit reasons, the liquor will need to be sold strictly in the liquor store, with the potential to enter the grocery store sometime down the line.

For the fans of Prescott’s Ptacek’s IGA, Ptacek said there is no need to worry about changes, as the two will be separate corporations. As for the River Falls location, there will be differences from the store in Prescott, but the “characteristics” will be similar.

“Starting up, I won’t be able to have a Caribou Coffee in there, the liquor will not be in the grocery store initially, it might be something down the line depending what the city allows,” Ptacek said.

River Falls was the best option to open a new location, Ptacek said, because of the ties his family already has to the community. Ptacek said he, his wife, his father and more of his family all went to River Falls for school. Ptacek’s wife grew up a block from the location and they both played collegiate athletics at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls which is close by. The connections don’t stop there as they have sponsored many of the city’s organizations and events.

“We’re excited as hell to be out in that community,” Ptacek said. “There’s a lot of community support out there, and we’re excited to get in that building, crank the energy up and really show the customers how much we appreciate them.”

The location is also about 10-12 miles from the Prescott location, so Ptacek said the proximity allows the store to be closely managed.

“We are very hands-on owners, so you want to make sure that you’re present there, and you can get there every single day and make sure it’s got your vision going forward.”

Ptacek said the location will bring over the quality meats and deli that community members have grown to love in Prescott. He has plans to improve a few departments to boost the overall quality of the store.

“Kick the bakery up a whole bunch, kick the produce up a bunch and bring a little more energy into that building,” Ptacek said.

Ptacek felt ready to open another store thanks to finding a perfect location and the knowledge gained from a long history of being involved in the grocery business.

“We’re a 112-year-old company, and I kind of joke a little bit, that if I haven’t figured out how to do this after 112 years, I’m in big trouble,” Ptacek said. “The opportunity was right.”

Ptacek assured River Falls residents that the store is not just one that is run behind closed doors without community input.

“I might be liable to the bank for some money, but we don’t own the store, the community owns the store,” Ptacek said. “We can do whatever we want out there and the community is going to help us drive that decision.”