Photo by Tyler Nelson
Starting today and running through the weekend, Sendik’s Food Market celebrates their 95th anniversary, with a little help from the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.
Sendik’s Food Market was born in 1926 on the northeast side of Milwaukee. Before the produce markets on Downer and Oakland avenues, the Balistreri family peddled fruits and vegetables by horse-drawn wagon. The chain now has 17 grocery stores in the greater Milwaukee area.
Oscar Mayer purchased a packing plant in Madison in 1919 which became the central location for the Chicago-based meat producer. The first Wienermobile debuted in 1936 at the height of the Great Depression that traveled around the U.S. to participate in parades, grocery store openings and visit hospitals. One of six Wienermobiles will be in town all weekend, stopping at eight Sendik’s locations around Milwaukee. You can see their schedule of stops here.
The two representatives traveling with the Wienermobile, “Zach N Cheese” and “Ketchup Katie,” are on the last leg of a year-long tour on the Midwest-based vehicle. Stop and say hi if you can this weekend and pickup some Oscar Mayer Hotdogger trading cards and Wienermobile whistles.