25 Wisconsin Convenience Stores Forced to Close After 48 Years

The end of July will really be the end of an era. A true Wisconsin original convenience store chain will be forced to close all locations after 48 years in business based on multiple reports.

I saw this sad development shared by Convenience Store News. They're reporting that  convenience store chain that began its existence in central Wisconsin back in 1976 will be no more shutting down all operations at the end of July. The Store tells the story of how entrepreneur Butch Schierl started a convenience store back when there were very few convenience stores.

In 1976, you would see lots of gas stations, but not many at that time offered as many different products as The Store did. According to The Store website, Butch's 3 sons joined the company after college and it's been family-owned the entire time.

Convenience Store News says that chapter 7 bankruptcy by the company that owns the land of all 25 locations is now forcing the closure of all The Store locations which includes Wisconsin and Michigan places. The bankruptcy is for Mountain Express and not Team Schierl which has other properties including a tire operation and Subway restaurants. They are not affected by the bankruptcy proceedings. The potential good news for the employees is the story says "all associates will be hired in their current roles". Let's hope all of them end up in a better situation once the process is complete.

Times change and business is business, but it's sad to see a company with Wisconsin roots that goes back decades shut the doors. All locations are to be closed permanently by July 31, 2024.