ALLOUEZ, Wis. (WBAY) – A neighborhood grocery retailer in Allouez, as soon as generally known as the unique Austin’s, closed its doorways on Saturday.
Sal’s Meals Heart purchased the property, which has an in depth historical past, in 2021.
On the final day of operations for Sal’s Meals of Allouez, locals who’ve stepped by way of the doorways for greater than 40 years got here again to take it multi functional final time.
“We’ve lived in a number of locations round right here and at all times gravitated towards Sal’s and Austin’s,” stated Ryan Hatch of De Pere.
This place has deep roots with the neighborhood. Sal’s was beforehand generally known as Austin’s from 1984 till it was offered to the present proprietor in 2021.
Earlier this month, the shop made a publish to their social media web page asserting the closure, saying: “To those that did assist us, our loyal prospects, hardworking staff, and anybody who gave us an opportunity, we sincerely thanks. Your kindness and patronage has meant the world to us.”
Many individuals say the shop was extraordinarily handy, particularly for the older technology, as they solely have 5 aisles, and should you had any points together with your baggage, they’ll take it out to your automotive.
Former staff like Christine Huffar say they’ve come by day by day for the reason that announcement.
“I wished to see our prospects trigger they grew to become buddies. They’re simply wonderful and I don’t know of some other retailer that carries groceries out. We had a whole lot of older prospects and stuff that wanted that assist. And I feel they’re actually going to overlook that too,” stated Huffar.
Ryan Hatch, a neighborhood who’s shopped right here often, visited one final time along with his household, along with his daughters sharing their reminiscences.
“I like this place. We bike right here on a regular basis. We scooter right here. We do every little thing, and we like to get the ice cream right here. It’s wonderful,” stated Ryan’s daughters.
Ryan added how onerous it’s for mom-and-pop outlets to compete with large firms.
“They’ve simply been so good right here. We’re unhappy for the household as a result of we all know they lately purchased the place. I feel Aldi and Hy-Vee is simply onerous to compete with the little guys. You understand, the small household personal stuff is tough to compete with the larger shops,” stated Hatch.
Sal’s Meals of Allouez is formally closed, however they nonetheless have three different places in Freedom, Black Creek, and Wausaukee.
Copyright 2025 WBAY. All rights reserved.
