West Bend, WI – There was a day when small neighborhood groceries were the buzz of activity in town. Long before Piggly Wiggly, Pick ’n Save, Sentry, Red Owl, Kohl’s Food Store and A&P, West Bend was home to several mom-and-pop grocery and food marts set up in the downtown and on quiet street corners.
In the 1930s there was the Perry-Page Grocery store on Seventh Avenue and Chestnut Street. It was run by Ida Page and the Rev. Perry. That corner building, 403 S. Seventh Ave., was also once home to Roffler Styling.
Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to FREE local news at
Washington County Insider on YouTube
National Tea was the food store located on Main Street just south of the West Bend Theatre. Edward Schmidt was the manager. National Tea later moved to North Main Street, just south of the brewery, and Gene Stark was manager.
In the 1930s and 1940s Held Food Mart had three stores in West Bend. Harvey Held ran the store at 241 N. Main St. in the Gonring Building where Grasshopper Restaurant is currently located. Another Held’s was at 121 S. Main St.; also formerly home to Ted Newman Signs.
Richard Krueger owned a little neighborhood grocery called the West Side Cash Store on the southwest corner of 10th Avenue and Cedar Street.
Flitter’s Queen’s Quality Grocery, 1270 Chestnut St., was on the northeast corner of Silverbrook Drive and Chestnut Street, where Tyberg Dental Clinic was once located.
Kash N Karry was at 1411 W. Washington St., just to the west of Myrhum Patten Funeral Home, where West Bend Furniture and Design currently stands.
Otten’s Store was at 1805 Barton Avenue. The Otten family ran the store, and the last member of the family business was Gene Otten.
Click HERE for more about Otten’s Store
Schuster’s Grocery, 1779 Barton Ave., was run by Tom Schuster. The store was across from the Gadow Roller Mills.
George Carbon’s IGA was across from the Washington House. The grocery was the old Central Hotel run by B.C. Ziegler’s father.
Winter Grocery was on the southwest corner of Oak and Main streets was a store started by Flora Huber and who later added a little lunchroom. Later the business was run by Bill Hess.
Henry E. Peters had a store in the 500 block of Hickory Street, across from Winkler’s Office City. William Peters had a huge mercantile store in the same building.
Wegener’s Red Bell Market was a store on Hickory Street east of Sixth Avenue run by Reuben Wegener.
The above photo from Oct. 20, 1938, was taken in front of the old Heipp General Store at Fifth Avenue and Walnut Street. That’s Fred Heipp at the reigns with his dog, Putzy. The horse was named Nancy and she served as the delivery horse for Heipp General Store since she was 6.
At age 38, Nancy collapsed on the street and was unable to get up without help. Heipp retired Nancy and replaced her with a younger horse called Babe.
“Fritz Heipp delivered ice to our home for our refrigerators, before the electric models,” said Peg Ziegler.
The Heipp General Store was later home to Mehring’s Fishery, John’s Photography and Hometown Talents & Treasures.
Researchers at the Washington County Historical Society helped cobble together this partial list of grocery stores in West Bend.
