Cub’s owner, food wholesaler UNFI, finally got wise this year and hired a local to run its largest and somewhat underperforming subsidiary. David Best is a Target and General Mills vet who most recently built-up central Minnesota grocer Coborn’s. “I grew up with Cub,” Best recalls. “It had a distinct identity: value and selection, freshness.” But Cub lost its focus and has a muddled reputation today, in an industry that’s far more competitive than when Target and WalMart didn’t sell groceries. “We’re a food state,” Best says, “Cub lives in the middle of the market.” Next year, Best hopes to “bring even stronger value to Cub, improve the customer experience in store/online, and bring exciting new products to Cub.”