Historic West Side butcher shop and grocery store Noche Food Center went on the market Friday after 84 years in business. Steve Knoche, whose grandparents started the store in 1938, said he and his wife, Stephanie Knoche, were working on selling the business before they officially listed it for sale.
“We’ve been up for sale for a while, but it’s been confidential,” Steve Noche said by phone between shows on Tuesday. Now we put it live and everyone wants to buy it. He said he will show the business to three more potential buyers on Tuesday night.
Noche’s father and uncles took over the shop from their parents. Third generation Steve and Stephanie Noche took over sole ownership 25 years ago.
“It’s time for me to retire,” said Steve Knoche, 55 years after he began stocking shelves at the store. Still, he said, “it’s very hard to get rid of.”
He hopes to find an owner who will take over the store’s retail operations and his thriving wholesale business. According to the owners, Noche beef is sold in about 65 local restaurants and bars, many of which list the company’s name “proudly” on their menus.
“We’re trying to see who would be a good fit to carry on the Knoche name. …We’re well known in the Madison area for having the best meat market in town, so we’re trying to continue that.
According to the online listing, the $450,000 asking price includes the 5,700-square-foot 1922 building at 5372 Old Middleton Road with the company’s name, inventory, customer lists, equipment and vehicles. The sale also includes the “opportunity to take over” the business’ various alcohol, food, tobacco and butcher licences.
“Priced to give new owners a chance to succeed,” the listing says. “Continue the legacy or build your own.”
The business and its neighbors have dealt with road construction challenges since April, with construction on Old Middleton Road expected to continue into the fall. The owners told the Wisconsin State Journal in July that the construction may be the reason for the drop in retail sales at the store, but business is booming thanks to wholesale business. They said they had to turn away new wholesale customers because they were so busy with bulk orders.
Hoping to keep Noche’s name alive, the owners of a West Side butcher shop that supplies meat to about 65 Madison-area bars and restaurants are up for sale Friday.
Rumors are confirmed
The sale had been rumored for weeks, but the owners kept quiet until Monday, when Stephanie Noche announced the “end of an era” in a post on her personal Facebook page.
“It is with a heavy heart that Steve and I have decided to put my Noche up for sale,” she wrote. “We’re very proud of our small shop, our quality butcher reputation and the wholesale business we’ve built, selling meat to 65 bars and restaurants in and around Madison.
“Our greatest hope is to find a new owner who will continue the quality and service we provide. We feel a responsibility to do everything we can to make that happen. The loyalty our retail and wholesale customers have shown us over the years is something we do not take lightly.
She thanked the business’s employees, who she called “small in number” but “hugely committed,” for “staying with us through this transition without knowing what the end will look like.”
“Being a small business owner is a lot of work,” she wrote. “Of course it wasn’t always easy (things of value are rare) but it’s always worth it.”
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