Piggly Wiggly Taking Over Sentry Locations

Owners of two Sentry food stores in the Milwaukee area are opting to align their operations with the Piggly Wiggly chain.

The owners told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that they’re making the move, scheduled for Aug. 23, due to Sentry losing ground in the market.

“We feel they're a little better wholesaler at this point at 98 stores strong, and at Sentry we’re down to 26,” store owner Ted Majdecki told the Journal Sentinel. “I hope the future for Sentry’s fine. But it was a business decision we had to make with sadness and regret.”

A decade ago, there were about 60 Sentry stores in Wisconsin, but that number has dwindled in the face of competition from Roundy’s-owned Pick 'n Save, Walmart and Woodman’s. Sentry stores are independently owned and are supplied by the financially struggling Minneapolis-based Supervalu Inc.

The Majdeckis will retain their West Allis supermarket as Piggly Wiggly franchisees; Piggly Wiggly is buying their Menomonee Falls store will franchise it to that store’s current manager.

Sheboygan, Wis.-based Piggly Wiggly Midwest has stores in Wisconsin and northern Illinois. It also supplies nine Butera Market stores, two Euro Fresh stores in greater Chicago and three Lena’s supermarkets in Milwaukee.