2020 IGA Hometown Proud Retailer of the Year Judy & Don Gabriele

From its founding in 1930, Nemenz IGA has embodied IGA's values. Gustav Nemenz—a true entrepreneur and artisan—started selling his handmade sausage from home during the Great Depression. Now his granddaughter, Judy, and her husband, Don, continue the tradition of offering local foods and products whenever possible.

Today, Nemenz IGA is still known for their departments where handmade foods shine.

The bakery alone employees 30 people, specializing in cakes and breads made from scratch, from recipes developed by a German Master Baker hired by Judys father Henry. And while they closed down their popular self-serve donut case during the pandemic as part of their stringent safety protocol, their customers didn't suffer from lack of selection. The bakery team continued to turn out hundreds of freshly baked loaves of bread a day, and even added clever new cake that made light of the worlds toilet paper shortage—and made the local news.

Their deli and hot foods department offers from-scratch items that shoppers know they can only find at IGA. The handmade Saxon sausage—Gustav's recipe—is a customer favorite and used by several local businesses and restaurants.

Nemenz IGA brings the past to the present while looking to the future. They have preserved Gustav's traditions, Henry's innovations, and now leverage IGA's modern tools like the National Digital Ad, social media marketing, and Instacart delivery to better serve shoppers during the pandemic and beyond.