Our History

In 1876, a man by the name of Nicolas Marx opened a simple grocery store and saloon in Kewaskum at the young age of 25. His business was located two buildings to the west of the railroad tracks on the south side of Main Street.

In 1911, Nicolas Marx's son, John, succeeded Nicolas John Marx continued to operate the store at the original location until 1926.

In 1936, after being released from the Major League Baseball tryouts in Lake Wales, Florida, “Mixie” Marx came back to Kewaskum to work for his father full-time at the store. Harold was dubbed “Mixie” as a young man, not from his baseball days, but rather from the hard candies he would “mix” at the store. Mixie worked stocking shelves and delivering groceries.

After marrying Eleanor Hron in 1939 and starting a family, Harold, accompanied by his daughter Judy, would go to the Godfrey Co. warehouse on Thursdays to get a few vegetables and fruits to sell at the store that weekend. Weekly trips were also made to State Street to candle the eggs bought from the local farmers. Later, the coal bins in the back of the store were converted to storage units and rented for $5.00 per month.

On Friday movie nights in Kewaskum, local residents would go from store to store signing up for prize drawings. On these busy nights an employee would run the only register in the store, while Eleanor ran a till out of a cigar box with some cash inside to make change.

In the Fall of 1961, Harold and Eleanor went ahead with plans to purchase the existing seven buildings across the street belonging to the H.J. Lay Lumber Company. As the site was cleared and a new structure started to emerge, this was the beginning of Marx’s IGA Foodliner. With the Marx’s working around the clock cleaning coolers and shelves, and with Harold’s bowling team helping stock the store, the new store was finally ready for business. Opening on Harold’s birthday, January 24, 1962, Marx’s IGA Foodliner was the newest and largest grocery store in the community.

After 20 years of ownership, Harold and Eleanor sold their business in 1976 to their son-in-law and daughter, Bill and Judy Geidel. This change in ownership marked the beginning of the fourth generation in the grocery business. The Geidel’s operated here for six more years.

After months of planning and preparation, the Geidels opened their brand new Piggly Wiggly on June 22, 2000. Beginning a new era and century under 5th generation ownership and management, Mike Geidel and his staff serve Kewaskum and its surrounding area. With over 26,000 square feet, the store is the only full-service grocery store in Kewaskum.

Mike Geidel retired on February 25, 2023, after 46 years in the grocery business. Mike joined the family business in 1976 at the age of 14, starting where all grocers begin their careers—bagging groceries. He worked alongside his parents, Judy (Marx) and Bill Geidel, at their Sentry Foods store on Main Street. In 1982, he helped his parents transition to their new Sentry store on Fond du Lac Avenue, managing the store for his parents. In 2000, Mike opened Geidel's Piggly Wiggly as the 5th generation owner of the family business. As the business continued to grow, Mike added an addition and a complete interior remodel of the store in 2015.