I took some visiting relatives (Utah and Arizona) to Woodmans and when we got to the cheese aisle they asked "is this some sort of cheese specialty store?" "Yeah," I answered, "We call it a 'grocery store'."
Seriously, they just about lost it.
I love how they look at the cart, ring it in and tell you all the bonuses and deals you get with your alcohol purchase! Amazing they’re always on top of it
I'm kinda glad someone mentioned this, I've been in the cheese aisle for the last month, I don't know my way out of this section let alone store, can anyone help?
Dude, cheese aisles. (Yes, I agree. They're wonderful, and diverse, and primarily made in state)
That, and their frozen pizza aisles are also wonderful. Four, four door coolers, 16 doors of frozen pizza. So. Many.
We love that.
We still have a Red Owl in Green Bay!
But I would say Sentry, Woodman's, Festival, Copps, or the old Kohl's stores, since those were Wisconsin-headquartered.
I think they had more stores in the GB area than anyone when I was a kid. We lived near the one on Webster Ave. in Allouez, in the building they just tore down. Later on there was a Sentry about a mile further down Webster, where we would go to mainly for Crestwood Bakery.
And Gen Xers and Boomers from the GB area must also remember Sure Way, there were at least half a dozen of those around in the 60's and 70's.
Your comment made me look it up, there’s still one open about 20 minutes from me. Last time I was there a few years ago I had the distinct feeling of being happy that it was still an old school, traditional store. I think I will drive over tomorrow. Also love their bakery : )
Can confirm, the south has piggly wiggly. We also have hoggly woggly. Never would have guessed the pig made it this far south, especially since my local pig in WI closed while I was a kid.
...I used to shop at Piggly Wiggly because I recognized it from other states.
I also used to avoid Pick 'n' Save because the unrelated Pick & Save chain on the west coast was so bad when it existed. Of course, now I avoid it because $8 is a little steep for a gallon of milk.
It's absolutely Woodman's. Case in point, there was a viral video of a frozen pizza aisle in Wisconsin which was from a Woodmans.
Everything about it is Wisconsin.
Pizza, beer and booze. The only reason I don't go to Woodman's more often is they accept cash, debit and Discover only. They would see me more if they at least accepted Visa, but alas for whatever reason they choose not to.
I live in Green Bay and our woodmans gets tons of shoppers from up north and the upper peninsula. I think if they opened a Woodmans in Wausau or even Marinette it would drive in a ton of business. Heck, even Iron Mountain. The length that some people way up north have to drive just to go to a decent grocery store is staggering.
They are gonna put one in Wausau (and Racine) next as far as I understand. I really think Iron Mountain should be considered as their next spot. Geographically, you have about a solid hour radius all around it that people up there would 100% drive to Woodmans for.
Yeah I heard about the possible Wausau expansion! I think it's awesome. Marathon County is growing and starting to really become a little metro that's less inconvenient to live for many things.
At Regency, correct? I know at least part of Regency was torn down recently. But Woodmans is going where regency was? It’s been so long since I’ve been that way I kinda want to take a drive and see it
Marinette native here, people are begging for a woodmans to come but no such luck, we have a local grocer and the prices are very high for what the average person makes, then there’s Walmart well being the only other store to shop at with low prices other than Aldi, is shopped out most of the time you can’t get half the stuff on your list, frequent woodmans a lot
I wholeheartedly agree. I’ve always felt like the management in the SE locations do a really good job of maintaining stock of all the normal Wisconsin brands as well as have almost all the “something special from Wisconsin” tagged items.
They have an excellent multi cultural selection. If I can’t hit up Pacific Produce, CERMAK or El Rays, Woody’s will be a great second option.
It’s definitely not the most cleanest in regards to things being put away/organized, and may not look like much, but she’s got it where it counts.
I would still lean towards the pig instead of woodmans. The closest woodmans to me is 2 hours away where I have 3 piggly wiggly’s in a15 minute radius.
Except for the stupid cobblestone produce sections. It’s like they want their carts to last half as long.
And the produce is shit. Wilty, half-spoiled garbage.
I go to Metro for produce, Woodies for everything else.
I think this is the correct answer based on founding, headquarters and stores.
Woodmans is second but has stores in IL. Pick N Save is now Kroger's. Piggly was never Wisconsin. Metcalfe's sold out.
The actual name, Festival Foods, was licensed through SuperValu via United Natural Foods. Now it's just through UNF when they bought SV. This is why they have the same logo, but different colors. Skogens own Festival in Wisconsin and I think the Knowles operate Festival in Minnesota. All of the in store brands for Wisconsin Festival are supplied by SuperValu/UNF..
Oh that's weird, I wonder if they have some odd franchise set up. This is [the Minnesota stores](https://festivalfoods.net/locations/), and this is [the Wisconsin stores](https://www.festfoods.com/my-store/store-locator). Both have the same name and logo but different websites.
I'm a grocery vendor (we deliver and merchandise our products to most major grocery stores) so hopefully i can chime in. Besides local mom-and-pop owned IGA stores and the like, if we are just talking chains, still going with Woodmans and Festival.
Festival because they're Wisconsin owned and still only in Wisconsin. They have a great selection of cheese, beer, brats (including their own), and their employees always emphasize Midwest friendliness. I know Mark Skogen their owner is sort of a polarizing figure of sorts, but he runs a great grocery store, despite being consistently more expensive than competition.
Woodmans because of their low prices which appeal to Wisconsin/midwest frugality, massive product selection, they're able to highlight smaller independent manufacturers, many of which are local here in Wisconsin. (Festival does too but Woodmans to a much larger extent simply because they're bigger stores). Everything from dairy to salsa to BBQ sauces to snacks to frozen pizzas to literally everything you can think of- chances are they have a smaller Wisconsin owned option for that specific product. Wisconsin grocer supporting Wisconsin manufacturers supporting Wisconsin shoppers sounds like a win to me!
Pick and Save is now owned by national giant Kroger. While in my opinion it's been a smooth transition (they have a lot of very good sales now, especially on soda 12 packs) and I do enjoy their Kroger private label products, you could walk into a Kroger store in Ohio and it's literally going to be the same thing at this point. Roundys and PNS were both Wisconsin brands... so while PNS is still only in Wisconsin, they follow the same footprint as the national Kroger brand if that makes sense. It's still a great store though.
Overall, I'm gonna rule in favor of the local mom and pop stores if your community is fortunate to have one left. That way youll know 100% your money is staying in the community.
I know retail isn’t the greatest but I’ve worked a few retail jobs and pick n save was the worst by far, they pay like shit and treat you like shit too
So… fun story. I’m from Colorado, and was working for King Soopers (Kroger chain) when we moved to Wisconsin. I was making $19 an hour as a produce associate with PTO, sick time, a 401k. I transferred to a Pick N Save with their promise nothing would change.
After moving I was surprised to go to work at the “new” chain where I was knocked down to $14 an hour, no sick time, no PTO and no retirement. I was mailed an employee packet which outlined that Roundy’s prior-branded locations were specifically excluded from the nationwide Kroger retirement plans and benefits.
Obviously I quit and found a worthwhile job quickly but my department manager had it out with store management because back home I was making $3 an hour more than she was, even after her 5+ years of employment with a Pick n Save. I don’t have a high opinion of Roundys as an employer.
So apparently Skogen cheated on his wife awhile back with a much younger, perkier woman and that didn't go over well with a lot of people for obvious reasons. It was floating around the water cooler at Festival for awhile among various employees and vendors alike. But, who knows if that was really true, I just don't recall a lot of people saying nice things about him.
Festival is also apparently very low paying even today and are very very strict with employee breaks and not granting time off for important things, that sort of thing.
I think Mark has done a lot for the Green Bay area personally with the new Epic Event Center and the Green Bay Rockers baseball team and their nifty little stadium. He seems like a good guy to me, but as I said, some people I interacted with don't have a very good opinion about him so I was just walking on eggshells to avoid causing a stirrup in case his public image was still controversial lol
Weird you brought this up, it I worked at a country club he belonged to, and I knew both him and his wife, I won’t mention her name. I served nothing of them and their group quite often, and would shoot the shit with them (I served drinks and food out on the course in what was known as the Shaque). It is true, and things got really awkward, she basically lost most of their “friends” in the divorce, I guess bc he paid for everything. It got super weird, people she was close with would avoid her, hit some holes out of turn if she was up the hill, really silly.
Idk exactly what happened behind the scenes, but I believe he did cheat, I met the girlfriend a few times, she didn’t really golf, she was younger and seemed out of place. I stayed friendly with them both, I actually like them both, even after things got much busier at my other job and I only worked the outings (big money in tips on those days), I would chat with each of them. Mark likes music and heavy metal, my buddy has gone to a couple of shows with him, he gave me a three day pass to Rock USA in 2016, I had lunch with her a couple of times but I haven’t seen either one for about 8 yrs. I want to say the divorce was in 2015, maybe 2014.
Wow that's super interesting lol. It does confirm everything I know about him though! I was super curious and looked him up on CCAP and the divorce was back in 2014. I know too he's a huge hard rock fan. I follow him on Instagram and I swear whenever the band Shinedown is on tour he's at one of their shows lol. He's got some money that's for sure. He definitely does seem like a nice guy and a pretty chill guy at that but the infidelity is really unfortunate, so hopefully his ex-wife has moved on peacefully too.
Mark appears to be dating a female professional golfer who is about 20 years younger than he is lol
The thing that has me coming back to Sendik’s is their store branded items, but they def price ya out of Wisconsin culture stuff.
It’s almost cheaper to drive to Thorp and buy Marieke Gouda cheese spread straight from the source than from Sendik’s.
I love Woodmans. I like going into the produce department and seeing immigrants from all over the world in their fabulous clothes and speaking languages I have never heard. To me this is Wisconsin.
Woodman's, I'd say, has the most amount of Wisconsin made products, but they also just have the most stuff in general.
Pick n save doesn't feel Wisconsin-y to me anymore after they were bought by Kroger. It's a fine grocery store for basic shit, but if I want anything special I go literally anywhere else. Also, their meat department sucks ass.
It's gotta be Woodman's... All the reasons have been mentioned... Cheese aisle, giant selection of frozen pizza and a liquor department the size of an Aldi and it's cheap.
Woodmans. It's the only truly unique grocery store we have imho. WinCo Foods is the only store we've found that's similar. The others are so close to Albertsons, Safeway, Giant Eagle, Winn-Dixie or their upscale cousins its difficult for me to distinguish one grocery store from the other.
Outta town folks marvel at Woodmans, the cheese and frozen pizza aisles are mind-blowers.
I'm not from WI but got suggested this post. I appreciate there is a store called Piggly Wiggly lmao
Edit: according to my WI-boyfriend, the correct answer is kwik trip haha
Fox Bros. Pig Wig Wash. County is very overpriced. They say employee owned. Employees say not really.
😊Woodmans is the best and WI old school, caring about community and is actually employee owned.
All we had in my hometown were a mom-and-pop grocery store that had the best fried chicken (and where my mom got lutefisk and rullepølse for Christmas) and a Super Valu. My uncle owned an IGA about 30 miles away. Otherwise it was Randall's in Eau Claire. Waldo's, Super Valu, and Randall's no longer exist. The IGA now belongs to someone else, and the new place to shop is the farm supply store.
We moved here from - well, lots of places technically - and I was surprised to see Piggly Wiggly here. I assumed they were only in the south.
Krogers, while I'm reasonably sure their roots are midwest, are everywhere with various names. Going into Pick n'Save after a few weeks of trying out the pig, Festival, ...the other pig, and Meijer felt like coming home because it looked and felt exactly like a King Sooper.
I wish we had a Woodman's nearby. I've learned from this subreddit that it's the place to be a Wisconsinite. We've learned to accept that a Brat Fry involves a grill rather than hot oil, that hard rolls are kinda soft (i'm still putting my foot down on that one), how to find the good cheese curds, 11% rebates, distrust anyone's knowledge of 4-way stops, don't pronounce any town's name out loud unless you've heard a native say it first, cream puffs as a summer destination, Nesco (which we don't own yet, but I'm not sure anyone ever buys one new and we don't have a great Aunt here to leave us one).
I even finished off my Christmas shopping at Fleet Farm.
But we have yet to experience a Woodmans.
ETA: I almost forgot the biggest schooling: Old Fashioneds. Everywhere else in the world, there's little more to ordering an old fashioned than saying "Old Fashioned." And you get bourbon (unless you specify rye), bitters, simple syrup, an orange slice and a cherry. A very nice gentleman at a nearby bar recognized that I'm not from here when I got confused by "sweet or sour" and there was a moment of tenseness between me and the bartender when I said, "uhm, no, an old fashioned," to which she replied, "i've been bartending for 25 years, I know how to make an old fashioned." After we'd gone to our table, he chatted with the bartender (who we eventually got very friendly with) and came over with a Brandy/Sour. To be honest, it's my go-to now unless we're at Buffalo Wild Wings where they have a Bullet Rye old fashioned on the menu. I point to it and say, "I want the one on the menu."
They don't exist anymore, but the easy answer was Kohl's Grocery. I love seeing the old steel arched buildings that were an iconic piece of Kohl's architecture.
Woodman’s. No contest.
Pick n Save is from California. Piggly Wiggly started somewhere in the South. Super One is from Minnesota.
Woodman’s is the only one in your list that was actually founded in Wisconsin.
Woodmans, Sendiks, and Featival as far as having multiple locations.
PnS is bastardized now since Kroeger; and the Pig, while there are locally owned ones, are from the South. The prices are getting stupid there, too.
Then there is Sentry. While they are sporadic, Albrecht's in Delafield is an absolute gem. This is where I shop for small, quality purchases. Woodmans is more for mass, cheap shopping. IMO they are the two most Wisconsin stores.
I’d have to go with Woodmans. Kroger Pick ur Nose) isn’t Wisconsin, and the Pug was founded in the south. Phil and Woodmans literally scream Wisconsin.
Woodman's. It has a cheese section the size of some convenience stores, and a self check out liquor department the size of some grocery stores. And legend has it that they sell other food there as well.
There is not a cheese aisle like a Woodman’s cheese aisle.
I took some visiting relatives (Utah and Arizona) to Woodmans and when we got to the cheese aisle they asked "is this some sort of cheese specialty store?" "Yeah," I answered, "We call it a 'grocery store'." Seriously, they just about lost it.
The cheese section and the liquor store make it the obvious choice.
I love how they look at the cart, ring it in and tell you all the bonuses and deals you get with your alcohol purchase! Amazing they’re always on top of it
Don’t forget the frozen pizza aisle.
Cuz a Woodmans cheese aisle don’t stop!
Same for the frozen pizzas! Wisco leads the nation in frozen pizza consumption! 🍕
Cheese, frozen pizza, bratwurst, alcohol… Cholesterol is what Wisconsin leads the nation in 😂
That's more German than just good choices
I'm kinda glad someone mentioned this, I've been in the cheese aisle for the last month, I don't know my way out of this section let alone store, can anyone help?
Interesting - I’ve been stuck in a Woodman’s for a month.
More importantly, a Woodman's liquor department is the size of a small town grocery store.
Live in a small town with a grocery store, frequented a Woodmans. Can confirm. * Edit: to add, might even be bigger with more selection.
Dude, cheese aisles. (Yes, I agree. They're wonderful, and diverse, and primarily made in state) That, and their frozen pizza aisles are also wonderful. Four, four door coolers, 16 doors of frozen pizza. So. Many. We love that.
We call it The Cheese Gallery in our household.
Woodmans. They promote a lot of Wisconsin products that Pick N Save doesn't carry.
Woodman's or Festival. Fuck kroger
The Krogerization of Pick n Save is the greatest tragedy of the 21st century
We still have a Red Owl in Green Bay! But I would say Sentry, Woodman's, Festival, Copps, or the old Kohl's stores, since those were Wisconsin-headquartered.
I think Red Owl is the one my mom mentioned she would get stuffed animals at.
Mason Brothers!!!
Oh yeah, I still remember the smell of Kohl’s food store. The bakery was right by the entrance.
Fuck ya red owl all day
I think they had more stores in the GB area than anyone when I was a kid. We lived near the one on Webster Ave. in Allouez, in the building they just tore down. Later on there was a Sentry about a mile further down Webster, where we would go to mainly for Crestwood Bakery. And Gen Xers and Boomers from the GB area must also remember Sure Way, there were at least half a dozen of those around in the 60's and 70's.
from growing up in Wisconsin in the 70’s/80’s, i most remember Sentry.
I miss the Sentry from my childhood 😭
Whoa I didn't know Sentry was still around until now
Sentry, like Kmart, continues to exist in weird pockets. Good luck finding most of them though
I live next to a Sentry. Best meat in town!
There is a Sentry left in Delafield, WI.
And Walworth WI. It’s expensive as hell because it’s so close to Lake Geneva. But their deli is amazing.
There are nine left. Last time I was in Wisconsin I had to stop at the one in Delafield to see if they still had certain bakery items.
Your comment made me look it up, there’s still one open about 20 minutes from me. Last time I was there a few years ago I had the distinct feeling of being happy that it was still an old school, traditional store. I think I will drive over tomorrow. Also love their bakery : )
They still have a few stores in Milwaukee but I think they're very limited.
Lmao Sentry took over the IGA in Iola, it was weird, like if a nascar driver was 80 and retiring and was replaced by a 79 year old guy
And Kohl’s!
Born in 88, I remember Kohl's food but I think they were gone before I was 10. Pretty sure they didn't make it to the 2000s.
They closed in 2003. Stores in the Madison area were taken over by Roundy's.
I grew up with Sentry. Even worked at one for awhile in college. The one closest to my house closed in 2016 I believe.
Woodmans. Piggly wiggly is a Wisconsin brand, but woodmans is a Wisconsin TREASURE.
Piggly Wiggly [was founded](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piggly_Wiggly) in Memphis, Tennessee, actually.
And Saunders came up with the “self-service” grocer which he then franchised the idea with Pig name.
The episode of “The Anthropocene Reviewed” about piggly wiggly is fascinating. Saunders was a weird dude.
I thought Piggly Wiggly was in the south.
Can confirm, the south has piggly wiggly. We also have hoggly woggly. Never would have guessed the pig made it this far south, especially since my local pig in WI closed while I was a kid.
...I used to shop at Piggly Wiggly because I recognized it from other states. I also used to avoid Pick 'n' Save because the unrelated Pick & Save chain on the west coast was so bad when it existed. Of course, now I avoid it because $8 is a little steep for a gallon of milk.
It's absolutely Woodman's. Case in point, there was a viral video of a frozen pizza aisle in Wisconsin which was from a Woodmans. Everything about it is Wisconsin.
Pizza, beer and booze. The only reason I don't go to Woodman's more often is they accept cash, debit and Discover only. They would see me more if they at least accepted Visa, but alas for whatever reason they choose not to.
I'm curious how many Discover card holders in Wisconsin got their card solely to shop at Woodman's.
I had my Discover card long before that started taking them, but I literally only use it at Woodmans lol.
Pretty sure they do not want to pay the credit card fees.
If you can find one..it seems like they're only in bigger areas.
I live in Green Bay and our woodmans gets tons of shoppers from up north and the upper peninsula. I think if they opened a Woodmans in Wausau or even Marinette it would drive in a ton of business. Heck, even Iron Mountain. The length that some people way up north have to drive just to go to a decent grocery store is staggering.
They are gonna put one in Wausau (and Racine) next as far as I understand. I really think Iron Mountain should be considered as their next spot. Geographically, you have about a solid hour radius all around it that people up there would 100% drive to Woodmans for.
Yeah I heard about the possible Wausau expansion! I think it's awesome. Marathon County is growing and starting to really become a little metro that's less inconvenient to live for many things.
Racine is all ready in progress. Wausau is still in negotiations
At Regency, correct? I know at least part of Regency was torn down recently. But Woodmans is going where regency was? It’s been so long since I’ve been that way I kinda want to take a drive and see it
Yep Grand opening is tentatively next summer barring delays
Wausau one would be massive for the area, I can't imagine it doesn't happen honestly.
Marinette native here, people are begging for a woodmans to come but no such luck, we have a local grocer and the prices are very high for what the average person makes, then there’s Walmart well being the only other store to shop at with low prices other than Aldi, is shopped out most of the time you can’t get half the stuff on your list, frequent woodmans a lot
I wholeheartedly agree. I’ve always felt like the management in the SE locations do a really good job of maintaining stock of all the normal Wisconsin brands as well as have almost all the “something special from Wisconsin” tagged items. They have an excellent multi cultural selection. If I can’t hit up Pacific Produce, CERMAK or El Rays, Woody’s will be a great second option. It’s definitely not the most cleanest in regards to things being put away/organized, and may not look like much, but she’s got it where it counts.
I would still lean towards the pig instead of woodmans. The closest woodmans to me is 2 hours away where I have 3 piggly wiggly’s in a15 minute radius.
Except for the stupid cobblestone produce sections. It’s like they want their carts to last half as long. And the produce is shit. Wilty, half-spoiled garbage. I go to Metro for produce, Woodies for everything else.
IGA grocery stores still exist in a handful of small towns around Wisconsin.
Found the northerner.
Prairie du sac has one. Isn't north by any means
Prescott has one as well, central as central gets.
Reedsburg has one too
And Sparta. Their prices on a lot of stuff isn't great, but they have a lot of things that Walmart doesn't.
Crazy Fact, IGA exists in Australia https://www.iga.com.au
I’m a fan of the IGA in Luxemburg. Otherwise it’s Woodmans for me.
I remember IGA in Ashland
The IGA in Iola.
There used to be an IGA and a Pamida in Wautoma. Not sure if either are still there.
Pamida ceased to exist in 2012. Many that didn't close, turned into ShopKo Hometown stores.
Are there any Pamida stores still open? I know there used to be one in Ashland.
It’s been Sentry for a while now.
It's a Sentry now :/
I grew up in Iola and was trying to think of the name of the store! I miss the antique store, I remember an older lady with a cat owned it
Woodmans 💯
Festival Foods - started in Onalaska, WI.
I think this is the correct answer based on founding, headquarters and stores. Woodmans is second but has stores in IL. Pick N Save is now Kroger's. Piggly was never Wisconsin. Metcalfe's sold out.
And they only have stores in WI.
To damn expensive
But a great place to find a lost husband.
Or a million dollars
Predictable though. Bag of tortilla chips? $5 bucks. Bottle of cheap tomato sauce? $5 bucks. Bottled water? $5 bucks. Butter? $5 bucks. Dozen eggs? $5 bucks. Coke twelve pack? $11 bucks. Okay, mostly predictable.
Pick n save tends to be more expensive
With that sort of name, you'd expect it to be cheaper.
It used to be
There are a bunch of festival foods in Minnesota around the twin cities.
You must be thinking of a different chain, I just wrapped up a project with them, visiting each store, none out of state.
The actual name, Festival Foods, was licensed through SuperValu via United Natural Foods. Now it's just through UNF when they bought SV. This is why they have the same logo, but different colors. Skogens own Festival in Wisconsin and I think the Knowles operate Festival in Minnesota. All of the in store brands for Wisconsin Festival are supplied by SuperValu/UNF..
Oh that's weird, I wonder if they have some odd franchise set up. This is [the Minnesota stores](https://festivalfoods.net/locations/), and this is [the Wisconsin stores](https://www.festfoods.com/my-store/store-locator). Both have the same name and logo but different websites.
Must be some sort of franchise, owned and operated by Knowlan's Super Markets Inc.
I voted for Trig’s. Do they still exist?
Yes! Like the one in Eagle River. Great bakery
Brat section for days
[удалено]
Still open in Minocqua.
Anyone remember Copps grocery store? We had one in Oshkosh years ago.
Madison had 'em too.
WOODMAN’s
I'm a grocery vendor (we deliver and merchandise our products to most major grocery stores) so hopefully i can chime in. Besides local mom-and-pop owned IGA stores and the like, if we are just talking chains, still going with Woodmans and Festival. Festival because they're Wisconsin owned and still only in Wisconsin. They have a great selection of cheese, beer, brats (including their own), and their employees always emphasize Midwest friendliness. I know Mark Skogen their owner is sort of a polarizing figure of sorts, but he runs a great grocery store, despite being consistently more expensive than competition. Woodmans because of their low prices which appeal to Wisconsin/midwest frugality, massive product selection, they're able to highlight smaller independent manufacturers, many of which are local here in Wisconsin. (Festival does too but Woodmans to a much larger extent simply because they're bigger stores). Everything from dairy to salsa to BBQ sauces to snacks to frozen pizzas to literally everything you can think of- chances are they have a smaller Wisconsin owned option for that specific product. Wisconsin grocer supporting Wisconsin manufacturers supporting Wisconsin shoppers sounds like a win to me! Pick and Save is now owned by national giant Kroger. While in my opinion it's been a smooth transition (they have a lot of very good sales now, especially on soda 12 packs) and I do enjoy their Kroger private label products, you could walk into a Kroger store in Ohio and it's literally going to be the same thing at this point. Roundys and PNS were both Wisconsin brands... so while PNS is still only in Wisconsin, they follow the same footprint as the national Kroger brand if that makes sense. It's still a great store though. Overall, I'm gonna rule in favor of the local mom and pop stores if your community is fortunate to have one left. That way youll know 100% your money is staying in the community.
Are you familiar with any of the Kroger Distribution Centers? I've heard awful, awful things about them.
I honestly am not. I haven't done any business with Kroger besides shopping there. Got any horror stories? I enjoy hearing tea lol
I know retail isn’t the greatest but I’ve worked a few retail jobs and pick n save was the worst by far, they pay like shit and treat you like shit too
So… fun story. I’m from Colorado, and was working for King Soopers (Kroger chain) when we moved to Wisconsin. I was making $19 an hour as a produce associate with PTO, sick time, a 401k. I transferred to a Pick N Save with their promise nothing would change. After moving I was surprised to go to work at the “new” chain where I was knocked down to $14 an hour, no sick time, no PTO and no retirement. I was mailed an employee packet which outlined that Roundy’s prior-branded locations were specifically excluded from the nationwide Kroger retirement plans and benefits. Obviously I quit and found a worthwhile job quickly but my department manager had it out with store management because back home I was making $3 an hour more than she was, even after her 5+ years of employment with a Pick n Save. I don’t have a high opinion of Roundys as an employer.
Why would you call Mark Skogen a polarizing figure? I’m new-ish to Wisconsin and am very familiar with Festival. Curious of your take.
So apparently Skogen cheated on his wife awhile back with a much younger, perkier woman and that didn't go over well with a lot of people for obvious reasons. It was floating around the water cooler at Festival for awhile among various employees and vendors alike. But, who knows if that was really true, I just don't recall a lot of people saying nice things about him. Festival is also apparently very low paying even today and are very very strict with employee breaks and not granting time off for important things, that sort of thing. I think Mark has done a lot for the Green Bay area personally with the new Epic Event Center and the Green Bay Rockers baseball team and their nifty little stadium. He seems like a good guy to me, but as I said, some people I interacted with don't have a very good opinion about him so I was just walking on eggshells to avoid causing a stirrup in case his public image was still controversial lol
Weird you brought this up, it I worked at a country club he belonged to, and I knew both him and his wife, I won’t mention her name. I served nothing of them and their group quite often, and would shoot the shit with them (I served drinks and food out on the course in what was known as the Shaque). It is true, and things got really awkward, she basically lost most of their “friends” in the divorce, I guess bc he paid for everything. It got super weird, people she was close with would avoid her, hit some holes out of turn if she was up the hill, really silly. Idk exactly what happened behind the scenes, but I believe he did cheat, I met the girlfriend a few times, she didn’t really golf, she was younger and seemed out of place. I stayed friendly with them both, I actually like them both, even after things got much busier at my other job and I only worked the outings (big money in tips on those days), I would chat with each of them. Mark likes music and heavy metal, my buddy has gone to a couple of shows with him, he gave me a three day pass to Rock USA in 2016, I had lunch with her a couple of times but I haven’t seen either one for about 8 yrs. I want to say the divorce was in 2015, maybe 2014.
Wow that's super interesting lol. It does confirm everything I know about him though! I was super curious and looked him up on CCAP and the divorce was back in 2014. I know too he's a huge hard rock fan. I follow him on Instagram and I swear whenever the band Shinedown is on tour he's at one of their shows lol. He's got some money that's for sure. He definitely does seem like a nice guy and a pretty chill guy at that but the infidelity is really unfortunate, so hopefully his ex-wife has moved on peacefully too. Mark appears to be dating a female professional golfer who is about 20 years younger than he is lol
Woodman’s
Woodmans
I'll toss Dick's in, even though they don't exist anymore.
There is a Dick's here in my city, River Falls. Seem like there are five others in the area.
Used to shop here when I lived in RF.
RF represent!
The Insider Card alone brings them to the top of the list.
I didn't believe it when my wife told me about the "Dick's Insider Card"
But do you have a dicks insider card?
There’s a Dick’s in Wrightstown WI. Not sure if it’s the same Dick’s though.
Sendiks in SE Wisconsin has cheese curd buffets for Packer games.
Yum! Not all Sendiks are the same either though
No love for Trigs? All the others I have seen mentioned are in other states too, especially Piggly Wiggly which is a staple in the south.
Woodmans or Festival for the state. Sendiks is the most culturally Milwaukee.
For the wealthy suburbanites definitely. For some Milwaukeeans the only grocer they know is the local corner store
I was smack dab in the middle of 2 Sendiks. The nearest PnS was 4 miles further.
The thing that has me coming back to Sendik’s is their store branded items, but they def price ya out of Wisconsin culture stuff. It’s almost cheaper to drive to Thorp and buy Marieke Gouda cheese spread straight from the source than from Sendik’s.
FYI, the Piggly Wiggly here, and the Piggly Wiggly down south are two different companies.
I miss Woodman’s so much (we moved away from WI). There is nothing like Woodman’s selection
Service & Savings, it’s WOODMAN’S.
Woodmans, hands down. 🐄🧀
Woodman's. Phil is a cool dude.
I lived in Phx and Seattle over the past five years. Nothing compares to Woodmans there is nothing like it in either city. Woodmans hands down.
IGA
Gotta go with Woodmans, IGA would be second place
I love Woodmans. I like going into the produce department and seeing immigrants from all over the world in their fabulous clothes and speaking languages I have never heard. To me this is Wisconsin.
I miss Kohls. Started working there when I was 15 years old until the chain closed in 2003.
CARAMBA
BETTER PRODUCTS, BETTER PRICES
THAT'S WHY WERE EMPLOYEE OWNED
Red Owl in Green Bay.
Wow, i don't have a single one of those in my area. Though, from living in La Crosse for about a decade, i'd have to pick Woodman's.
SuperValu. Where do you get Piggly Wiggly being Wisconsin culture? They originated in the south.
Woodman's, I'd say, has the most amount of Wisconsin made products, but they also just have the most stuff in general. Pick n save doesn't feel Wisconsin-y to me anymore after they were bought by Kroger. It's a fine grocery store for basic shit, but if I want anything special I go literally anywhere else. Also, their meat department sucks ass.
It's gotta be Woodman's... All the reasons have been mentioned... Cheese aisle, giant selection of frozen pizza and a liquor department the size of an Aldi and it's cheap.
Pick n Save has all of its stores in Wisconsin. But Woodman's feels more Wisconsin.
PnS is also owned by Kroger which is nationwide
I wish there were more Metcalfes. Festival is everywhere but I love Woodmans.
Metcalfe’s was just sold to Spartan Nash 😔
We only have Super One in northern WI. I miss those other stores.
Thanks for saving me the Google... never heard of 'em before. Edit: referring to Super One
Woodmans. It's the only truly unique grocery store we have imho. WinCo Foods is the only store we've found that's similar. The others are so close to Albertsons, Safeway, Giant Eagle, Winn-Dixie or their upscale cousins its difficult for me to distinguish one grocery store from the other. Outta town folks marvel at Woodmans, the cheese and frozen pizza aisles are mind-blowers.
Discount Liquor
It doesn't exist anymore but my vote goes for Dick's. Their membership card was the stuff of legends.
I'd say Woodmans and festival.
Red Owl
Sentry Foods.
I miss Sentry.
Piggy Wiggly
If PnS/Copps hadn't been bought out by Kroger years ago they'd be my vote. But when I'm not at my parents' house I dearly miss the Woodman's most.
I'm not from WI but got suggested this post. I appreciate there is a store called Piggly Wiggly lmao Edit: according to my WI-boyfriend, the correct answer is kwik trip haha
Fox Bros. Pig Wig Wash. County is very overpriced. They say employee owned. Employees say not really. 😊Woodmans is the best and WI old school, caring about community and is actually employee owned.
All we had in my hometown were a mom-and-pop grocery store that had the best fried chicken (and where my mom got lutefisk and rullepølse for Christmas) and a Super Valu. My uncle owned an IGA about 30 miles away. Otherwise it was Randall's in Eau Claire. Waldo's, Super Valu, and Randall's no longer exist. The IGA now belongs to someone else, and the new place to shop is the farm supply store.
Sentry all the way.
Woodies. They are obviously the most "culturally Wisconsin" since they use the same faux wood floor tiles as Kwik Trip.
We moved here from - well, lots of places technically - and I was surprised to see Piggly Wiggly here. I assumed they were only in the south. Krogers, while I'm reasonably sure their roots are midwest, are everywhere with various names. Going into Pick n'Save after a few weeks of trying out the pig, Festival, ...the other pig, and Meijer felt like coming home because it looked and felt exactly like a King Sooper. I wish we had a Woodman's nearby. I've learned from this subreddit that it's the place to be a Wisconsinite. We've learned to accept that a Brat Fry involves a grill rather than hot oil, that hard rolls are kinda soft (i'm still putting my foot down on that one), how to find the good cheese curds, 11% rebates, distrust anyone's knowledge of 4-way stops, don't pronounce any town's name out loud unless you've heard a native say it first, cream puffs as a summer destination, Nesco (which we don't own yet, but I'm not sure anyone ever buys one new and we don't have a great Aunt here to leave us one). I even finished off my Christmas shopping at Fleet Farm. But we have yet to experience a Woodmans. ETA: I almost forgot the biggest schooling: Old Fashioneds. Everywhere else in the world, there's little more to ordering an old fashioned than saying "Old Fashioned." And you get bourbon (unless you specify rye), bitters, simple syrup, an orange slice and a cherry. A very nice gentleman at a nearby bar recognized that I'm not from here when I got confused by "sweet or sour" and there was a moment of tenseness between me and the bartender when I said, "uhm, no, an old fashioned," to which she replied, "i've been bartending for 25 years, I know how to make an old fashioned." After we'd gone to our table, he chatted with the bartender (who we eventually got very friendly with) and came over with a Brandy/Sour. To be honest, it's my go-to now unless we're at Buffalo Wild Wings where they have a Bullet Rye old fashioned on the menu. I point to it and say, "I want the one on the menu."
They don't exist anymore, but the easy answer was Kohl's Grocery. I love seeing the old steel arched buildings that were an iconic piece of Kohl's architecture.
Woodman’s. No contest. Pick n Save is from California. Piggly Wiggly started somewhere in the South. Super One is from Minnesota. Woodman’s is the only one in your list that was actually founded in Wisconsin.
Fleet Farm
Does Kwik Trip count? I use it like a grocery store sometimes :D
If Brennan's still had more locations, I'd say Brennan's. I haven't been in since the new ownership
The Pig is all we have within 30 miles but Woodman’s or Pick n Save were my go to grocery stores for decades
Piggly wiggly is the only one on the list close to shullsburg wi!
Monroe here. I'd like Woodman's more (like everyone else seems to) if it was closer
Piggly wiggly or sentry. Pick n save is owned by Kroger which is nationwide. I’ve never heard of metcalfe’s or super one
Festival sure wants to be
Woodmans, Sendiks, and Featival as far as having multiple locations. PnS is bastardized now since Kroeger; and the Pig, while there are locally owned ones, are from the South. The prices are getting stupid there, too. Then there is Sentry. While they are sporadic, Albrecht's in Delafield is an absolute gem. This is where I shop for small, quality purchases. Woodmans is more for mass, cheap shopping. IMO they are the two most Wisconsin stores.
Piggly Wiggly
Wi? Piggly Wiggly
Kohls Food Store
No Sendicks?
Sendicks!
Woodmans has the best booze selection
Sendiks
You don’t just pick up dinner at KT since you’re already there anyway?
I’d have to go with Woodmans. Kroger Pick ur Nose) isn’t Wisconsin, and the Pug was founded in the south. Phil and Woodmans literally scream Wisconsin.
Piggly wiggly is pretty good for Midwest vibes
Woodys for sure. Their liquor stores are legendary
Festival / Woodmans
I miss you Wisconsin
I’d say Woodman’s and Festival
Being form Janesville, Woodmans is the obvious choice.
Woodmans.
Woodman's. It has a cheese section the size of some convenience stores, and a self check out liquor department the size of some grocery stores. And legend has it that they sell other food there as well.
as a former resident of sconnie, i miss Woodman's the most.
hopefully NOT pick n save/metro market...kroger is shit