Dave Schmidt had his 25 seconds of fame Thursday and he made the most of it.

The winner of the Star Store’s shopping spree, held to celebrate the iconic grocery’s 25th anniversary under Gene and Tamar Felton in Langley, Schmidt made off with $144.39 worth of steaks, ham, cheese, turkey and pricey olive oils.

“Oh, and a jar of peanut butter,” he said.

Over the past few weeks, the Feltons had asked patrons to put their names in a bucket to qualify for the great grocery grab.

Three were chosen; Challis Stringer, Gina Simpson and the Schmidts, Dave and Cathy. Color commentator Sue Frause then asked a few trivia questions, such as who was president in 1984 (Ronald Reagan), what was the name of George Orwell’s famous novel (a gimme), what inspired the store name (a brand of shoes), who was mayor of Langley the year the Feltons took over from Victor and Anna Primavera (Delores Cobb), and the price of a gallon of gas that year ($1.10).

The Schmidts won and Cathy deferred to her husband, who indicated he had a secret strategy in mind.

But first, Felton cautioned that alcohol, tobacco, drugs and clothing were off limits and the winner couldn’t make a “sweep” of items from a single shelf.

The proceedings were interrupted occasionally as anxious shoppers clogged the aisles, less interested in the shopping spree than filling their carts. Some were almost insistent. “Where’s the potato chips?” one asked.

Finally, the moment had come. Schmidt had his shopping cart ready to rock as Tamar Felton signaled the start.

Schmidt tore straight to the meat case and grabbed steaks, ham, some choice turkey cutlets and slabs of fancy cheese.

“Don’t think, just grab!” Gene Felton yelled.

As the seconds ticked away, Schmidt rushed to the olive oil aisle and grabbed a couple bottles — plus the peanut butter for good measure — just as his time ran out.

Watching all the action was the guest of honor, Primavera, who turns 92 next week. She said she’s been thinking a lot about the store lately.

“My husband Victor was so happy to sell, we practically gave it away,” she recalled. “You know, we lived upstairs then and my two oldest daughters were born up there.”

Gene Felton said it was fun watching Schmidt grab and go.

“It’s likely we’ll refine the event a bit and do something similar in the future,” Felton added.

Jeff VanDerford can be reached at 221-5300 or jvanderford@southwhidbeyrecord.com.