The 84-year-old Monroe grocery store Danny’s is closing one of its two locations.
The original store, Danny’s Fine Foods at 1002 W. Elm Ave. in Monroe, will remain open. Danny’s II, 199 Cole Road in Monroe, will close permanently at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 28. Danny’s II opened in 1983.
“We will be fully operational for all of your holiday needs until then, including any orders you’ve already placed,” the business posted Dec. 14 on its Facebook page. “We sincerely hope you’ll make the six-minute drive to Danny’s on Elm Avenue so we can continue to serve you and have a seat at your family’s table.”
Anthony Bellino, son of co-owner Karen Vuich Bellino, said the family isn’t sure yet what it will do with the Cole Road building.
“(Owners and siblings) Karen Vuich Bellino and Danny Vuich Jr. (and their spouses) are getting to the stage of their careers and at an age when the amount of hours they are putting in per week (is too much). It’s a small business. They’re the ones putting keys in the doors (in the morning) and turning the lights off (at night). They have a very limited number of days off,” Bellino said. “So, we are consolidating down to one location to be able to lighten the load.”
“It was a big decision for us,” Vuich Bellino said. “We appreciate everyone who shopped over there. We’ll miss our regular people. People are (telling us), ‘You’ve been so good to us.'”
No changes in offerings are expected at the Elm Avenue location because of the closure.
“It’s small in space compared to Elm. Elm is our headquarters,” Vuich Bellino said.
Danny’s, originally named Food Basket, dates back to 1941 and is known for its gourmet and specialty foods, fresh meat counter and services like senior shopping, carry-out groceries and catering.
The business was started by Mike Vuich Sr., an immigrant from Serbia, according to Monroe News archives. He died in 1975. His son, Danny Vuich Sr., was the next owner of the store.
Danny Vuich Sr. added the Cole Road Danny’s II location in 1983, when Monroe’s Micka family sold the Micka’s Meats building.
Micka’s Meats was started around 1937 by Charles Micka.
According to Dick Micka, Charles’ son, in a 2021 Monroe News story, “Dad pretty much built it himself. The building was smaller then and we lived next door (west of the store). The Minney family lived next to us, then there was an open field before you reached High Ridge Street, which is still there today. Sometime in the 1950s, Dad enlarged the store and moved the house we were living in to Orchard Street, which is a short distance away off North Macomb Street. Eventually, he bought the Minney place and turned that into a parking lot which is there today. If you go into Danny’s II today, the atmosphere is still the same as when Dad had the place. Not much has changed — only the faces.”
Danny Sr. died in 1998. His wife, Lucille Vuich, and children, Karen Vuich Bellino and Danny Vuich Jr., continued the business. Lucille died in 2021. Lucy’s Frozen Custard, formerly Danny’s Frozen Custard, on the Elm Avenue property, is operated by Taylor and Griffin Vuich.
Danny’s Fine Foods and Danny’s II are open from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sundays.
— Contact reporter Suzanne Nolan Wisler at swisler@monroenews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Why is Danny’s II grocery store closing in Monroe?
Reporting by Suzanne Nolan Wisler, The Monroe News / The Monroe News
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