He started out working in his father’s grocery stores and now, after a successful business career of his own, Denny Elwell is ready to step back a bit. Son-in-law Chris Murray, 31, is taking over the day-to-day operations of Denny Elwell Co. as president, and the company’s first-ever board of directors will begin its duties June 1.

“I’ll help Chris from an advisory standpoint,” said Elwell, 63. “I want to stay active. Buying and selling is really what I want to be involved in. The hard work is in the thousands of details, and that’s too repetitive.”

Elwell, his son James and Murray will serve on the board of directors along with Nathan Barber, a lawyer at the Belin law firm, and Jeff Johannesen, a managing director at RSM McGladrey Inc.

Elwell formed his real estate development company about 20 years ago, following a series of business ventures. “I worked in my dad’s grocery stores (Elwell Food Marts) until I was 24,” he said. After trying the pizza business — “too many hours,” he said — he went into the tire business. That led to truck and van accessories, which led to the formation of Dee Zee Manufacturing in 1978.

“In between, I opened grocery stores under the name Sav-On Foods,” he said. He sold them to Hy-Vee Inc. in the mid-1980s. He also has been involved in restaurants. “That was never a good experience,” he said.

Murray, who has been the company’s executive vice president since 2003, said he expects to lead the organization into more third-party activity. “We will do third-party representation of buyers and sellers on a case-by-case scenario, and we’ll also do third-party management,” he said. “We already do some of that.”

However, he said, “We’re not going to change drastically overnight.”

Elwell, who grew up in Johnston, made his fortune in Ankeny and lives in West Des Moines, already spends a large part of each year in Arizona. The only thing he said he’d like to add to his life is “a little more traveling.”

“I’m a non-hobby person,” he said. “The only hobby I have is working. I need an office, because I have to have someplace to go every day.”

Elwell was a key player in creating Metro North Business Park and Metro North Air Park in Ankeny, currently assessed at more than $95 million; the Delaware Avenue Retail Corridor, assessed at more than $77 million; Carney Industrial Park, worth more than $20 million; Springwood Center, assessed at nearly $10 million; and more.