Krause's Store
The Mishicot High School "Voices of the Past" local history class has been researching family stories. Thank you to Bianca Krause for sharing yours with us.
Krause's went from being the old Holtz Store to a new and improved grocery store. Krause's Store was a family owned store located next to the state bank, and then later moved next to the village hall. I will explain to you about the decision for the purchase of the store and the move, what they sold, and some interesting facts about Krause's.
Joan and George Krause, Sr. bought Holtz Department Store, located next to the State Bank, from Hugo Holtz in 1964. Before the purchase of the grocery store, George worked in an appliance store. Mr. Krause wanted to own his own business which is why they decided to buy the store. The grocery store was a big success and there just wasn't enough room for all the business in the original store. They grew out of the previous store and decided to make a more spacious store across the street next to the village hall. In 1969 the store was moved and remodeled for about $100,000. After many years of working hard at the grocery store George Krause sold the store to Larry Zender and John Lofberg in 1996.
Krause's wasn't just a grocery store; they sold many other items as well. Some of the things they sold were work clothes, washers and dryers, shoes, vacuums, groceries, and meat. In 1970, after the move, a bakery was added. In the bakery they made wedding cakes, sweet rolls, French and Italian bread, pies, hamburger and hotdog buns, doughnuts, Danish, pastries, cookies, and Kolaches; and everything was fresh. They even made deliveries, some as far away as Green Bay when delivering wedding cakes.
Krause's was one of the main grocery stores in Mishicot during its time. In 1980 there were 45 to 50 employees working at the store. Some interesting facts are that the original store only had two checkout lanes and four aisles! Krause's also had a grocery store in Denmark that was purchased in 1975. Krause's was the first independent grocery store to do office work on a computer in Wisconsin. They used stamps and labels for every item; basically workers had to hand-stamp every price on the labels on every item they sold. Another fun fact is that there used to be a farm with a barn and silo where the current store is located today. Mrs. Krause said you could actually see where the silo used to stand when they first moved.
The old Holtz Department Store was transformed into the family owned store--Krause's. The store went from Holtz Brothers Department Store to Krause's to Main Street Market to Mishicot Family Market; go check it out today!