Skogen’s Festival Foods and Hometown Grocers, long-time Wisconsin grocery operators, will be sold to a new holding company formed by the family behind Schnuck Markets of Missouri.
Todd Schnuck, chairman and CEO of Schnuck Markets, Inc., said Tuesday the family’s new firm, 1939 Group, Inc., has reached a definitive agreement to purchase 100% of the shares of the Wisconsin-based parent company of Festival Foods and Hometown Grocers, Inc. The deal covers shares held by Mark Skogen, CEO of Festival Foods and Hometown Grocers, as well as those in the company’s Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
“Our family is honored to be entrusted with the Skogen family legacy, one that began serving Wisconsin communities in 1946 and continued for decades under the leadership of Dave and Barb, and later, under Mark as CEO,” Schnuck said. “With this combination, we’re welcoming more than 8,000 associates to our family, unifying two family legacies and redefining what it means to be a regional grocer.”
Festival Foods operates 42 stores across Wisconsin. Hometown Grocers includes nine banners: Dave’s County Market, Denny’s Supervalu, Don’s Quality Market, Lake Mills Market, Lakewood Supervalu, Super Ron’s Food Center, Thompson’s County Market, Thorp Supervalu and Wittenberg Sentry Foods. Schnuck officials said the stores’ existing banners will be maintained.
“It’s been a privilege to serve Wisconsin communities and continue the legacy my grandparents began in 1946,” Skogen said. “Our focus has always been on treating every customer like a guest, supporting the growth of our associates who make that experience possible and giving back to the communities we serve. With Schnucks’ shared commitment to nourishing lives, this transition will help expand our impact and continue our tradition of community support across the Midwest.”
Festival Foods traces its roots to 1946, when Paul and Jane Skogen opened a 3,000-square-foot grocery store attached to their home in Onalaska, Wisconsin. Over the next decades, the company expanded under the Skogen family name, growing from that single location to multiple Skogen’s IGA stores, eventually rebranding to Festival Foods in 1990 as consumer trends shifted. Festival Foods had been a family- and employee-owned chain that was growing across Wisconsin. In recent years it has added locations in places like West Allis, Hartford, Kimberly, and Hudson, and made strategic acquisitions such as taking over several Trig’s stores in 2021.
The 1939 Group name honors Anna Donovan Schnuck, who opened the first Schnuck store in St. Louis that year. Once the sale closes, Todd Schnuck will serve as chairman and CEO of both the new holding company and Schnuck Markets.
Festival Foods and Hometown Grocers will keep corporate offices in Onalaska and Green Bay. Schnucks and 1939 Group will remain based in St. Louis. The companies said the transaction is expected to close in October, pending customary review and approval.
After completion, the 1939 Group will oversee 164 stores in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, with a combined workforce of about 19,000.
