RAPID CITY, SD — A downtown staple with nearly a century of history is evolving beyond its storefront as the owners of Staple and Spice Market expand their focus on wellness through a new digital platform.

Tammy Yanders, co-owner of Staple and Spice Market, and her daughter Carly Buehner recently joined the Rapid City Business Journal podcast to discuss the store’s legacy and their upcoming fitness and lifestyle app.

Located in the historic Rose Building, Staple and Spice has long served as a hub for natural foods and wellness products in Rapid City. Yanders and her husband became the business’s fifth owners in 2020.

“Staple and Spice Market has been on the corner for nearly one hundred years now,” Yanders said. “It’s gone through some changing of hands, and my husband and I are the fifth owners.”

Yanders, a Rapid City native and Stevens High School graduate, came into ownership with a background in nursing, health coaching and fitness instruction. The opportunity arose unexpectedly through a connection with the previous owner.

“[The previous owner] said, ‘You would be fantastic with all your background,’” Yanders said. “And it just kind of went forth from there.”

Since taking over, Yanders has leaned into both her professional experience and community relationships to shape the store’s offerings. Staple and Spice provides a wide range of natural products. Anything from supplements, non-toxic home and beauty items, and grocery staples can be found on the shelves.

“We have such a unique, amazing creation of thoughtfully planned out and thoughtfully purchased items,” she said.

The store is also known for its cozy atmosphere and local partnerships. Staple and Spice customers can often find fresh local sourdough bread deliveries, seasonal produce baskets and locally sourced goods.

“One of my biggest, proudest things is being able to have a lot of curated local products,” Yanders said.

The business underwent a modernization push shortly after the ownership transition in 2020, including a new point-of-sale system, updated storefront and online shopping capabilities. 

Buehner added that the store’s ecommerce platform grew out of necessary adaptations during the pandemic.

“We had a lot of people calling in and doing orders to pick up in the back,” she said. “So it kind of just extended from there.”

For Yanders, “It was mostly for more consistency, more accuracy, and being able to do in-store pickup for the community.”

Now, the mother-daughter duo is building on Staple and Spice’s momentum with their new app, Fitt by Tammy and Carly, aimed at making fitness and nutrition more accessible.

“We realized that a lot of people want guidance on the fitness and nutrition side of things, but don’t always have that access to a coach,” Yanders said. “So we created an app where people can follow structured strength programs, track progress, and learn how to fuel their bodies.”

The app will feature a range of programs tailored to different experience levels, along with nutrition guidance, recipes and wellness education.

“We’ll have different programs available for people of any age,” Buehner said. “Some that are more strength-based, some like Pilates strength… and the nutrition side of it where we’ll offer recipes and macro meals.”

The concept stems from years of shared experience in fitness and a lifelong connection to health-focused living.

“It’s always been part of who we are,” Buehner said. “And now we get to share that with whoever wants to join with us.”

The app is currently in development with a targeted launch in April. The pair has been documenting the process on social media while working through a guided development program.

As for all of this change, “It’s been absolutely terrifying,” Yanders said. “But terrifying is good… you need to do things that are hard for you.”

With that, Yanders said her priority remains maintaining the trust and sense of community that define Staple and Spice.

“I don’t want to ever let that go,” she said. “It’s such a cool thing to have people come into the store and trust you with their journey.”

Buehner echoed that sentiment, emphasizing the importance of connection.

“It’s really cool that people are able to come in and be very vulnerable about what they’re going through,” she said.

As Staple and Spice continues to grow both in-store and online, Yanders sees the expansion as a natural extension of the business’s core mission.

“Everything that’s in the store, I would give to my family or myself,” she said. “It’s a trustworthy space.”