Sheboygan Falls-based sausage manufacturer Johnsonville Sausage has opened its first retail store, in Naples, Fla.
Ralph and Shelly Stayer, the company’s owners, live in Naples during the winter. They opened the 1,544-square-foot store to cater to other Midwestern transplants who couldn’t find their products in local stores, as well as lifelong residents of the area.
The store, known as the Johnsonville Sausage Marketplace, includes more than 70 varieties of the company’s sausage products, mustard, branded apparel, cookbooks and grilling accessories. The Marketplace also sells Sartori Cheese, Gibbsville cheese curds, Sconnie Foods sauerkraut and Faris gourmet popcorn.
The company’s only retail outlet is modeled off the original Johnsonville Market, with a silver-embossed tin ceiling, exposed antique wood beams, hitching posts, and milk glass pendant light fixtures. The store is decorated with historical Johnsonville and Strayer family photos.
“We opened a store here because for so many years, Naples-area residents have asked us where they could find certain types of our sausage products if they’re not available in the local grocery stores here,” the Stayers said in a statement. “So now we’re able to say people can get every Johnsonville Sausage product in our new store.”
