Local residents reflect on neighborhood grocery store with long history as it closes its doors

ALLOUEZ, Wis. (WBAY) - A neighborhood grocery store in Allouez, once known as the original Austin’s, closed its doors on Saturday.

Sal’s Food Center bought the property, which has an extensive history, in 2021.

On the last day of operations for Sal’s Foods of Allouez, locals who’ve stepped through the doors for more than 40 years came back to take it all in one last time.

“We’ve lived in multiple places around here and always gravitated toward Sal’s and Austin’s,” said Ryan Hatch of De Pere.

This place has deep roots with the community. Sal’s was previously known as Austin’s from 1984 until it was sold to the current owner in 2021.

Earlier this month, the store made a post to their social media page announcing the closure, saying: “To those who did support us, our loyal customers, hardworking employees, and anyone who gave us a chance, we sincerely thank you. Your kindness and patronage has meant the world to us.”

Many people say the store was extremely convenient, especially for the older generation, as they only have 5 aisles, and if you had any issues with your bags, they’ll take it out to your car.

Former employees like Christine Huffar say they’ve come by every day since the announcement.

“I wanted to see our customers cause they became friends. They’re just amazing and I don’t know of any other store that carries groceries out. We had a lot of older customers and stuff that needed that help. And I think they’re really going to miss that too,” said Huffar.

Ryan Hatch, a local who’s shopped here frequently, visited one last time with his family, with his daughters sharing their memories.

“I love this place. We bike here all the time. We scooter here. We do everything, and we love to get the ice cream here. It’s amazing,” said Ryan’s daughters.

Ryan added how hard it is for mom-and-pop shops to compete with big corporations.

“They’ve just been so good here. We’re sad for the family because we know they recently bought the place. I think Aldi and Hy-Vee is just hard to compete with the little guys. You know, the small family own stuff is hard to compete with the bigger stores,” said Hatch.

Sal’s Foods of Allouez is officially closed, but they still have three other locations in Freedom, Black Creek, and Wausaukee.

Copyright 2025 WBAY. All rights reserved.