Grand Re-Opening for Bread & Butter Shop May 25
The Baltus Company, headquartered in Marshfield, will celebrate the grand re-opening of its Stratford Bread & Butter Shop on Memorial Day weekend, May 25-28. The Stratford Area Chamber of Commerce will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday, May 25 at 9:00 a.m. There will be many promotions and prizes given away throughout the weekend.
Over the past several months, the store underwent major renovations, which included the conversion of former food service space into a huge cold beer cave, all new check-out, food-service, and coffee counters, new store awnings, signage and LED lighting. Several new merchandise offerings will also be included in the new store layout.
The store, located on the corner of Hwy S97 and 153, was originally built in 1985 and then expanded in 1994 to include food service.
“We’re very proud and excited to be a part of the Stratford community for over thirty-three years,” said John Baltus, company president. “The Baltus family has a rich heritage in the Stratford area, where in the late 1800’s, my great-grandparents lived and raised their family, and where my great-grandfather and his brother were camp foremen for the village-founding Connor family, and Connor lumber company’s operations; many of which were located in the Stratford, Webertown (Town of McMillan), and Halder areas, as well as the Connor operations in laona, WI.
“Our family heritage is very important to us, and we are proud to prominently display many historic old photographs of Connor lumber camps in all of our stores, including Stratford. Customers stop to gaze at the old lumber camp photos, and many are able to identify their ancestors in the photos as well.”
The Baltus company celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2017. Frank Baltus, a Stratford native, decided to leave the connor company and open a gas station on the corner of 1st and Chestnut Ave. in Marshfield in 1927. The Baltus company now has several convenience stores, car washes, laundromats, liquor stores, and automotive services in Marshfield, Stratford, Wisconsin Rapids, and Nekoosa.
