New owners have quietly taken the reins of Third Street Market downtown.

Ben and Loni Cobb and Ben and Amanda Boruchowitz a few months ago purchased the organic market that has been a staple of Whitefish for decades.

Ben Boruchowitz said the goal has been to keep the store in a way that customers wouldn’t notice the shift in ownership.

“We saw how great the store was and we don’t want to change it,” he said.

Ric and Dawn Blair previously owned the market, and Ric has stayed on working at the store.

“Ric has been so helpful,” Boruchowitz said. “Everyone knows him so it’s great to have him here.”

Third Street Market is a natural and organic health food store that carries a variety of items including produce, bulk foods, and a wide variety of vitamins and supplements. The market also carries local and Made in Montana products.

Ben and Loni Cobb live in Alpine, Utah with their five girls ages newborn to 16. They’ve been visiting Whitefish for about a dozen years and were interested in purchasing the market when they say it quietly went up for sale.

“Third Street Market is a staple of the community,” he said. “We saw a sound business that has been growing.”

“We’ve been eating healthy for about 10 years and this is an industry that we’re passionate about,” Loni added. “We fell in love with this area a long time ago. We want to be a part of Whitefish.”

Ben is a software designer and says he plans to use his expertise to assist with technology upgrades behind the scenes at the market.

Ben Cobb and Ben Boruchowitz met in college, and so the Cobbs introduced their friends to Third Street and Whitefish to purchase the business together.

Ben Boruchowitz is a police officer and together the couple have two girls ages 4 and 5, and they live in Columbus, Ohio.

“We had never been to Whitefish or Montana and we love it,” Ben said. “We’re both excited to be part of the store.”

“Our kids already want to work here,” Amanda adds.

As owners, both couples plan to visit the store regularly and the Cobb family likely will spend summers in Whitefish, but they say the market is already running smoothly.

“It runs so well already,” Ben Cobb says. “We have a couple small ideas, but we don’t see it as broken so we won’t be changing it.”

Third Street Market is located at the intersection of Third Street and Spokane Avenue. The market is open Monday through Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

For more information, call 862-5054 or visit www.thirdstreetmarket.com.