1326 North Meade Street (Appleton, Wisconsin)

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1326 North Meade Street
Map
General information
TypeCommercial building
LocationAppleton, Wisconsin
Coordinates44°16′25″N 88°23′43″W / 44.27365°N 88.39530°W / 44.27365; -88.39530Coordinates: 44°16′25″N 88°23′43″W / 44.27365°N 88.39530°W / 44.27365; -88.39530
Opened1949
Closed2014

1326 North Meade Street was the location of a commercial building in Appleton, Wisconsin from 1949 to 2014. Originally built by the local Quaker Dairy grocery store chain in 1949, it became home to the first Pizza King restaurant in 1976, which was replaced by Homebrew Market in 2003. After Homebrew Market closed in 2014, the building was purchased and demolished by Appvion.

Acme Body Works[edit | edit source]

Acme Body Works, an automobile body shop, operated at 1314 North Meade Street from 1931 to 1949.[1]

Quaker Dairy (1949-1974)[edit | edit source]

In November 1949, the local Quaker Dairy grocery chain purchased the former site of Acme Body Works, and announced plans to build its fourth grocery store there, to open before the end of the year. The address was first listed as 1314 North Meade Street,[2] then revised to 1320 and ultimately to 1326 North Meade. A larger Park 'n' Market food store opened next door at 1400 North Meade Street in June 1957,[3] and a Sundial Westinghouse Laundromat opened behind Quaker Dairy in July 1960.[4] A string of robberies at the Quaker Dairy occurred in 1974,[5][6] and the store closed shortly thereafter.

Deli King and Pizza King (1976–2003)[edit | edit source]

In late May 1976, a Deli King restaurant opened in the former Quaker Dairy building, the company's third location in Wisconsin. Managed by 20-year-old Dean Sosnowski, the restaurant served a variety of delicatessen items, as well as "Pizza King" pizza.[7][8] The Deli King chain was short-lived, and Sosnowski began operating the restaurant independently, with a greater focus on pizza, renaming it Pizza King.

On August 13, 2003, the restaurant moved into a neighboring building, a former Express Convenience Center store at 800 East Wisconsin Avenue. The new, larger building allowed the restaurant to increase its seating and add a conference room.[9] The restaurant was long a popular lunch break spot for employees at the nearby Appleton Papers facility. The restaurant closed on December 31, 2019, with Dean and Paula Sosnowski's retirement from the business.[10]

Homebrew Market (2003-2014)[edit | edit source]

Homebrew Market, a hobby supply store for homemade alcohol equipment and ingredients, moved to the former Pizza King building from 520 East Wisconsin Avenue in October 2003. Homebrew Market was operated by the Lonsway family, also the owners of Stone Cellar Brewpub. The Lonsway family sold the building to Appvion, formerly Appleton Papers, in March 2014. Homebrew Market closed on April 5, and the building was demolished to be replaced with Appvion's proposed innovation center.[11] As of 2020, the former site of the building is a grassy area between two Appvion employee parking lots.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. The first reference to this address indexed by Newspapers.com is this Acme Body Works advertisement from the Appleton Post-Crescent, May 9, 1931, page eleven.
  2. "Quaker Dairy Erecting Store", Appleton Post-Crescent, November 2, 1949, page four.
  3. "Newest Store Marks Opening", Appleton Post-Crescent, June 25, 1957, page 27.
  4. Advertisement, Appleton Post-Crescent, July 14, 1960, page A12.
  5. "Police & fire beat", Appleton Post-Crescent, June 8, 1974, page A8.
  6. "Courts", Appleton Post-Crescent, October 20, 1974, page F-1.
  7. "Deli King opens", Appleton Post-Crescent, June 20, 1976, page B-6.
  8. "Our History", pizzakingappleton.com
  9. "The Buzz: New clothing store aims for streets", Appleton Post-Crescent, August 14, 2003, page D-7.
  10. "The Buzz: 2019: Goodbye to more stores", Appleton Post-Crescent, January 5, 2020, page B-1.
  11. "Homebrew Market to close", Appleton Post-Crescent, March 19, 2014.