Iconic Clinton County grocery store and butcher shop has closed, but not for long
Customers who think Rich Hellige might be feeling sentimental or broken up about selling the Breese grocery store and butcher shop that has been in his family for 87 years, think again.
The 86-year-old had a good run at Hellige’s Super Market & Lockers, and he’s ready to move on. He started working at the store when he was 12.
“I’ll miss the people,” Rich said this week. “I won’t miss the work. When you own a business, you’re always worried about this, that and the other. There’s always something that needs to be done.”
Now Rich and his wife, Peggy Hellige, can spend more time with their five children, nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. They can stay with friends in Florida, and Rich can play golf anytime he wants.
The couple and their son, Steve Hellige, closed the doors of the iconic Clinton County business for the last time Wednesday. They will sign papers on Thursday and turn the keys over to a new owner, Logan Fischer, who plans to reopen Monday.
“He’s going to keep it pretty much the way it is,” said Peggy, 76. “He doesn’t want to carry as many grocery items. But he asked for our recipes, and we gave them to him. We want him to be a success.”
Hellige’s has been making its own ham salad, corn beef, brats, barbecue, spaghetti sauce and several kinds of sausage for decades. It also sold frozen meals with dressing, gravy and roasted potatoes.
Fischer formerly worked as a butcher at Behrmann’s Meats & Processing in Albers. He couldn’t be reached for comment this week.
Fischer graduated from Mater Dei High School in Breese and earned a civil engineering degree at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, according to his Facebook page.
“I just wish him the best,” said Peggy, who helped with cooking and catering at Hellige’s. “I hope it goes well.”
Sale sign went up in May
Rich’s plan to leave Hellige’s was no surprise to customers. The family posted a for sale sign in May and told people that they were closing the store in October, with or without a buyer.
Steve, 60, a butcher and co-owner who handled livestock and wild-game processing, wanted to do something different, and no other family members were interested in taking over.
“Rich is very happy that it sold as a business (instead of a vacant building),” Peggy said.
Once the family had a solid deal with Fischer, they began spreading the word to customers. Some had been shopping at the store for decades, following in the footsteps of their parents or grandparents.
Many people stopped by in recent weeks to wish the Helliges luck and take one last walk down the grocery aisles and up to the meat counter. They snapped photos and shared hugs. Then they bought sausage.
“I’ll bet we sold over 300 pounds of pork sausage,” Rich said. “We couldn’t make enough of it.”
Not everyone is leaving Hellige’s. Mary Huelsmann and Geralyn Hodapp, who have each worked 45 years at the store, will be staying on and helping Fischer, according to Peggy.
Breese Mayor Kevin Timmermann called the ownership change “the end of an era.”
“I hate to see the family leave, but sometimes that happens,” he said. “The only thing I wish for Peggy, Rich and Steve is the best luck in the world.”
Family took over in 1935
Rich’s father, Arthur Hellige, worked six years for Breese Motor Sales before he got laid off in 1935 and bought the former Sanitary Meat Market, next to the Avon Theater.
Owner George Musenbrock had died. His widow offered to sell the store for $400, about $8,600 by today’s standards.
Arthur scraped up the money by borrowing from friends and family members. The bank wouldn’t give him a loan, according to his son. The plan was considered too risky.
“You know what (Dad) knew about the meat business? You buy it, you cook it and you eat it,” Rich said last year for a BND profile.
Arthur added staples such as coffee, flour and sugar and moved the store to its current location at Clinton and First streets. In 1942, he installed metal lockers that customers could rent to store their meat.
Rich took over management in 1972, although his father continued to work until his death in 1993.
The building at 97 N. Clinton St. has quadrupled in size over the years, and products have come and gone. But Rich sees rising taxes and costs associated with stricter regulations as the biggest changes.
“They’re trying to get more money out of you,” he said.
In the near future, Rich and Peggy plan to load up their Ford Explorer and head to Houston, Texas, to deliver Arthur’s antique wooden desk to their daughter, Mollie Hellige.
Once back in Breese, the retirees can see themselves shopping at the old store. Where else would they get their sausage?
This story was originally published August 4, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
