William Steinmeyer served with the 26th Wisconsin Volunteers during the Civil War.
After being wounded, the military tried to send him home but he refused, re-enlisted
and was promoted to Captain. In 1864, after being wounded a second time he came
home, bought into the John C. Bauer grocery store on the condition that he would
have a free hand in the day to day management of the store. He operated the store on
a cash only basis, no credit. This allowed Steinmeyer to reduce his costs and
transfer the savings to the customers. He soon began a delivery business initially
using wheelbarrows for delivery and then using horses with wagons or sleighs during
the winters, and eventually trucks.
In 1877 Steinmeyer bought out the remaining interests in Bauer and moved to a new two
story building, creating Steinmeyer’s Retail and Wholesale Grocery. Plans were made
to build a new larger store which opened in 1893. William Steinmeyer passed away in
1892 and the presidency of the company transferred to his widow Margaret. The day to
day operations were taken over by his son-in-law Emil H. Ott and his brother Charles
Ott. The business continued to operate on the cash only premise and by 1898 an
addition was built on the new store.
The grocery store did not deal in perishable items but sold bulk staples, such as
flour, sugar, coffee and canned goods. They also sold alcohol, both wine and liquor,
as well as tobacco and cigars. In 1921, Steinmeyer’s did $10,000 per day in business
and was called the “nation’s largest retail grocery store under one roof”. It
continued well into the 1940’s, adding a grill that served a breakfast and lunch
menu and expanding to include some fresh meat.
