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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

A century of service

Regional grocery chain hits a major milestone

Posted

ELY – One hundred years ago John Zupancich bought a store on top of the hill in downtown Ely. He moved his family of six into the upstairs portion of the building and began his business of selling shoes and dry goods.

Later this fall, “Zup’s” Markets, now an Iron Range tradition with grocery stores in Ely, Babbitt, Tower, Silver Bay and Cook, and close to 200 employees, will officially mark 100 years of business.

Jim, the manager of the Ely store said the family is celebrating the business milestone all year. “We’re going to have a big celebration in the middle of October,” he said. “We want to thank our community and customers for all the support we’ve received over the years.”

Zup’s stores have a long tradition of hometown pride and family involvement. Earlier this summer, participants in the Tuesday Night Live events were treated to a concert in the Zup’s parking lot by country singer Zach Thomas. Free hot dogs and ice cream treats were enjoyed by hundreds of people. Zup’s Markets redefined the traditional candy toss at area Fourth of July parades, with employees dressed in clown costumes literally dumping boxes of candies along the route.

The beginning

“Grandpa” John Zupancich purchased the original store from Frank Jenko. The store at that time was directly across the street from its present Ely location. Part of that building houses the Rockwood Restaurant today.

John was born in Iga, Austria, in 1871. Angela Levstik was born in Ribovic, Austria, in 1881. John came to the United States in 1896 to work in the mines, making his way to Ely. Angela was only in the U.S. for a week when she and John were married on June 22, 1902, by Monsignor Buh in St. Anthony’s Church in Ely.

According to a family history, John bought the Darling Dime Store from Frank Jenko. During the early days, John Sr. sold door-to-door from a suitcase that included such items as combs and brushes. He bartered carpentry work for groceries and soon discovered the farmers in the White Iron Lake area were handy with tools. Wooden barrels could be seen everywhere in the first store. Buying goods in bulk, like sugar, canned goods, paper products, vinegar and rice was common practice. Trains also brought many carloads of grapes for wine and cabbage for sauerkraut.

In the beginning, the store carried no milk or fresh vegetables. Everyone had their own cows and gardens.

John first introduced meats in the store during the holiday season. He had built the popularity of the store long before its inception, making sausages for friends and family with the supply increasing year by year.

Due to the popularity of the wide variety of products and the “old world” style sausages, Zup’s store began to incorporate immediate family members into its employ. John was soon joined by his sons, Joseph, Eddie, Ludwig, Bill, Leonard, Albert and John Jr. The store continues with family management by John’s grandsons and great-grandsons.

Mother Angela died at 55 years of age and was not alive to see World War II. Five of her sons served overseas. The armed forces were well represented when Joe and Ludwig joined the Navy. Leonard and Albert joined the Army and John Jr. joined the Marines. Eddie stayed home to help his father with the business and Bill stayed in Ely and worked as a timber cruiser for U.S. Steel.

In 1937, brothers Joe, Edie, Leonard Albert and John Jr. took over the active management of the business. Their father was 67 years old by this time.

The Ely store was remodeled in 1949 to become a self-service market. In 1958, the business bought the adjacent Mantel building, adding another 24 feet to its facility. At this time, Zup’s went to a cash system and there were no more deliveries. All the owed bills and accounts were slowly paid off by the customers and everyone paid cash for their groceries. The store was affiliated with Fairway Foods, owned by Twin Ports Grocery in Duluth.

Expansion and success

Zup’s bought the Gornik Family Store in Tower in 1956. It was located on the main street where the mortuary business is now located. They remodeled the store to the liking of the Ely facility with a sausage room and smoke house. Because of federal inspection laws, the Ely store could not ship their sausage to other stores, so each store had their own sausage factory.

On a recent Monday morning in the Ely store, “Happy” Joe Zupancich Jr., his sons, Joe and Steve, along with Neil Lepisto and Keith Hanzel, were busy in the sausage room making several varieties of the popular tube steak. “We make sausages at least twice a week,” Joe said. “Of course, the summer time is the busiest and we are at this three or four days every week. We have to make it as we sell it.”

A handwritten note taped to the wall indicated more than 500 pounds of at least eight varieties of sausage were needed that day. “Sometimes we make three times that,” Hanzel said. The meat was ground and spices were added. Casings were filled and tubes of sausage were spread over an ice-chilled counter. Skilled hands twisted the meat into links in mere seconds. Some of the varieties are packaged and frozen immediately, and other batches are precooked or put into the smoke room.

“There’s only two things you need to be a sausagologist,” “Happy” Joe said. “You need a size 54 coat and a number two hat.” Lots of snickering could be heard in the room.

A Silver Bay location was added in 1964. The Aurora site was added in 1973. That store was closed earlier this year. A store was added in Babbitt in 1983. That operation also includes mini storage buildings and a shopping center. A fire destroyed the Babbitt store in 2011. Through hard work, determination and community support, they were able to rebuild a new store in eight months.

A new store was built in Cook in 1998. That facility also includes a gas station.

In 1967, Ed Sr. founded the company trucking business and the groceries are hauled to each store from a warehouse facility in St. Cloud. Each store gets at least two truckloads of supplies each week, or more depending on the season.

The current Ely store opened in 1983 across the street from the original building. The lot housed a Chevrolet garage and a home. The new store included a deli and with that the beginning of the Zup’s Catering business. Their first catering job was in February 1985.

John Sr. continued in the family grocery business until his death on June 7, 1950. A family reunion was held in 2002 with 236 people in attendance.

Jim, manager of the Ely store, said he is looking forward to a big celebration this fall marking 100 years of his family’s success. “Look for super deals for our customers and a big party in the middle of October,” he said without revealing too much.

As for the continued growth of Zup’s Markets, Jim said the business is always looking to grow and expand. He hinted at a desire to enlarge the Ely facility. “And we are always looking at how we can grow in other communities. Stay tuned.”