Nelson's Variety Stores (Racine, Wisconsin)

Nelson's Variety Stores were two variety stores in Racine and Caledonia, Wisconsin, which opened in 1940 and 1978, respectively, and closed in 2017. The Racine store, in the West Racine commercial district, was originally located at 3208 Washington Avenue, and moved across the street to 3223 Washington Avenue in April 1956. The Caledonia store was located at 4636 Douglas Avenue. At the time of both stores' closure in 2017, Nelson's was one of the last remaining operators of traditional variety stores in southeastern Wisconsin.

3208 Washington Avenue (1940–1956)
Melvin W. Nelson entered the retail business in 1920, operating a confectionery store at 2308 17th Street, which was a "sub-station" of Bake-Rite Bakery at 308 Main Street. Nelson left the store in 1926 and later managed a Kroger grocery store for seven years before opening Nelson's Five Cents to One Dollar Store in 1940. The original Nelson's building at 3208 Washington Avenue was a former Rowley's Food Market in the West Racine shopping district.

3223 Washington Avenue (1956–2017)
In November 1955, Melvin W. Nelson, his wife, and son Melvin G. Nelson purchased the former Kroger Consumer grocery store building at 3223 Washington Avenue, across the street from the existing Nelson's store. The new store, located on the southeast corner of Washington Avenue and Hayes Avenue, began its grand opening sale on April 19, 1956. The store closed on April 1, 2017, leaving its building as one of several vacant West Racine storefronts.

Caledonia: 4636 Douglas Avenue (1978–2017)
Nelson's purchased three acres of land along Douglas Avenue in the northern Racine suburb of Caledonia in 1974, with the intention of eventually building a second location there. Construction began on a 9600 sqft store building in January 1978, intended to be open by the beginning of August. The store opened that year, the same year that Melvin G. Nelson's son Jeff graduated from and joined the family business. After closing in 2017, the store and an area behind it were converted into Nelson's Mini Warehouses, a self-storage facility.

Closure
It was announced that both stores would begin the process of permanently closing on January 16, 2017, after Jeff Nelson, the third-generation family owner and operator of the chain, decided to retire. Although the stores were considered a local institution, Nelson chose not to sell the business, because merchandise was becoming harder to find, the family was not interested in acting as landlords to new operators, and he believed that "there's no one in town who’s going to be willing to work this hard".