The Local Checkout: Midwest family-owned grocer celebrates 97 years with special visitor; new film series gives voice to farmers and ranchers

Welcome to The Local Checkout, a new Winsight Grocery Business column about independent grocers from Editor Diane Adam. Grocery stores are like people—they come in all different shapes and sizes. And here at The Local Checkout, I’ll be taking a closer look through a wide lens of independent grocery stores. Because just like people—they all matter.   

97 years and counting

Sendik's Food Market is owned by the Balistreri family and has been serving the greater Milwaukee community since 1926. To celebrate the historic anniversary, the grocery retailer has various events planned.

"The two weekends of the anniversary sale are packed with in-store events like meeting some of Wisconsin’s very own cheese makers and sampling some of the area’s most unique products," co-owner Ted Balistreri said in an anniversary message to Sendik's customers.

"While so many things have changed since our business started in 1926, our mission remains the same, to have the best team members supplying the very best shopping experience, period."

This weekend, in honor of its 97th anniversary, the family-owned grocer announced a special guest will make an appearance at several of its stores—the Oscar Mayer Wiernermobile.

To this day, “The Oscar Mayer Wiener Song” is still at the top of list for most recognized jingles. Singing or whistling after reading this is encouraged.

Play ball

Speaking of hot dogs always conjures up the magic of summer at the ballpark. Market Basket, owned by the 105-year-old Demoulas Super Markets, which operates 87 stores in four New England states, has teamed up with Kayem for a Red Sox Instagram Giveway. The grand prize includes quite the game-day experience—the opportunity to throw out a ceremonial first pitch at a Red Sox game this season. As Ferris would say, “Hey batter, batter, batter, batter, batter! Swing, batter!”

New film series

Independent grocers and local farmers work together daily. Natural Grocers is widening that lens with a new film series called “Meet Your Farmer” that gives a voice to farmers and ranchers who are changing the way food is produced today. “Our ‘Meet Your Farmer’ film series acknowledges how the planet nourishes us and how we, in turn, need to nourish it back,” said Raquel Isely, VP of marketing for Natural Grocers, in a statement.  The Colorado-based grocer said it expects more films will be added on an ongoing basis.

Program for Produce

Harvest Market is a family-owned business started by Tom Honer in 1985. It now operates three stores in northern California. This week, it became the first in the U.S. to offer a healthy food incentive in which participants earn matching dollars when they buy California-grown fruits and vegetables.

The program comes on the heels of recent federal rollbacks of SNAP Emergency Allotments, which have eliminated pandemic-related funding to cut about $95 a month from the average recipient's benefits. 

A win-win for shoppers and growers on many levels, the program “gets fresh produce into more homes and encourages people to eat healthier. They get more food for their EBT dollar, and it helps California farmers,” Harvest Market VP Jennifer Bosma said in a statement earlier this week. Pass the peas, please.

That’s a lot of candles

Dierbergs Markets, which began as a country store in 1854 in West St. Louis County, is celebrating its 169th birthday this year. As part of its anniversary, the grocery retailer is offering shoppers various anniversary deals. The St. Louis-based grocer has been run by four generations and now operates 27 stores in the St. Louis metro area and one location at Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks. Happy birthday!

Thanks for reading The Local Checkout. Got an indie grocery story or news item you think I missed? Email [email protected]