Layout 1 (Page 1) - Kenosha

For a place that’s full of familyfriendly attractions, perhaps it’s
fitting that the Kenosha Area is
also home to many businesses that
have stood the test of time, while
keeping it all in the family. Let’s
take a look at just a few of the
family owned establishments in
the Kenosha Area.
Andrea’s is a unique fourthgeneration shop featuring gifts,
home décor, fashion accessories, bath
and body, cards, gourmet foods and
candy. It also has an award-winning
cigar and tobacco shop and an
historic soda fountain. The story of
Andrea’s begins in 1911 when a
young Giacomo “Jack” Andrea,
recently arrived from Italy, started
selling tobacco and candies from a
piano crate on a Kenosha street
corner. His customers were local
factory workers.
Today, locals and tourists
alike visit Andrea’s. Jack built a store
in 1915, and as the business grew he
moved the store to its current
location, 2401 60th Street. Through
the years, the store has been remodeled and its offerings have expanded.
Known for its old-fashioned sodas,
sundaes, and thick malts, Kenosha
souvenirs, and tobacco shop, the
store remains in the Andrea family.
Its cafe, Jack’s Cafe, sold homemade
ice cream until the late 1960’s. The
rippling process (fudge-ripple ice
cream) was actually invented at
Andrea’s. The store Jack built
remains, as does Jack’s Cafe with the
original Italian marble soda fountain
counter.
John N. Tenuta left his
native Italy in 1926 to seek his
fortune in the United States. In
1950, John and Lydia Tenuta
opened Tenuta’s Delicatessen
and Liquors. Today, Tenuta’s
is run by the third generation, John’s grandson and
Ralph’s son Chris. Tenuta’s is
located at 3203 52nd Street.
Chris has described Tenuta’s
as an old-style deli and wine
store. The authentic Italian
food grocery - in an “old
world setting” - is very popular with
motorcoach tours and out-of-town
visitors. It offers a wide variety of
items, including appetizers, salads,
prepared foods, deli trays, cold and
hot sandwiches, cheese, sausage and
salami and desserts (including cannoli) - and that is just the deli part
of the store. The outdoor grill, with
Italian sausage and more, is popular
with the lunch crowd when the
weather permits. The grocery section
offers spices, peppers, oils, vinegars,
tomatoes, pasta, rices, extracts,
imported and domestic candies,
kitchen tools and more. There is also
a liquor section. Tenuta’s offers
cheeses, vinegars and oils not
Ralph Tenuta, Tenuta’s. Top: Andrea’s.
found in every community, as well as over 200 types of
cigars.
What could very well be the oldest original retailer
in Kenosha owned by the same family, DeBerge’s is a custom framing shop that has existed since 1890. Henry F.
DeBerge originally located the store in downtown Kenosha.
He built the current store, at 2008 63rd Street, in the
1920’s. Today, his great granddaughters, Kim Baas and Barb
DeBerge, own the business.
The store’s offerings have greatly changed over the
years. At one time or another, the business sold paint, wallpaper, art supplies, and custom window shades. These days,
DeBerge’s focus is on offering expert custom picture frames.
Personalized services include delivery, installation, private
residential consultation, and commercial sales and service.
DeBerge’s offers object and memorabilia framing and conservation framing. They frame everything from fishing lures
and tap shoes to glass eyeballs and baptismal gowns, according to Kim. The entrance hall of the Chicago Lyric Opera
House includes opera posters from over twelve seasons,
which DeBerge’s framed. Framing by DeBerge’s is also hanging in the Kenosha Public Museum, as well as Carthage
College and Gateway Technical College. DeBerge’s also sells
art related giftware and home decor items. Kim and Barb
continue their great grandfather’s legacy.
And then there’s Jelly Belly Candy Company. While
its roots didn’t originate in the Kenosha Area, Jelly Belly is a
family owned
and operated
business now
in its fifth
generation of
candymaking.
Jelly Belly
Visitor Center
opened at
10100 Jelly
Belly Lane in
Jelly Belly Visitor Center.
Pleasant Prairie
in July 2001. Enjoyed by visitors of all ages from near and
far, the center offers free indoor train tours through its warehouse, a candy store, snack bar, and sample bar. Nearly five
years to the day it opened, Jelly Belly Center hosted its one
millionth tour guest on July 26, 2006. The lucky visitor
received his weight in Belly Flops, which amounted to 12
cases, or 288 pounds.
The family’s first candymaker was Gustav Goelitz
who immigrated from Germany in 1867. He learned candymaking in America, and by 1869 was in business for himself
in Illinois. He was joined by his brother Albert, and they
sold handmade candies from a horse drawn cart. Fast for-
Kyle Rudin, Sabine Rhey, Dick and Angie Rudin, House of Gerhard.
ward to more than a century later, in which over 150 yearround and seasonal confections are made at plants in
California and Illinois. Their great grandsons manage the
business today, with great great grandchildren involved as
well. The company is most known for its Candy Corn and
Jelly Belly jelly beans. The family began making Candy
Corn around 1900, according to company records. The
invention of the first gourmet jelly bean in 1976, and
Ronald Reagan’s subsequent fondness for the beans, brought
the company international attention. And so, billions and
billions of beans later (more than 14 billion Jelly Belly beans
are eaten worldwide each year alone, enough to circle the
earth around five times), the family legacy continues.
House of Gerhard, at 3927 75th Street, has been
a family owned business since it opened in 1964.
Continuing the tradition begun by Gerhard and Ruth
Dillner are their daughter and son-in-law Angie and Dick
Rudin and their children Sabine and Kyle. Gerhard came
to this country from his native Germany in 1954.
Authentic German cuisine and American favorites are
served in an atmosphere filled with old world charm. If
it's a taste of Deutschland you seek, you needn't fly to
Bavaria! The restaurant has been awarded the Wisconsin
Restaurateur of the Year honor many times, most recently
in 2009.
As time marches on and new specialty stores and
restaurants open in the Kenosha Area, it may be the
beginning of even more family legacies. For more
information about these businesses in the Kenosha Area
and more things to see and do, contact the Kenosha Area
Convention & Visitors Bureau at (800) 654-7309 or visit
the Bureau’s web site at www.KenoshaCVB.com.
For more information about the Kenosha Area:
www.KenoshaCVB.com
www.Facebook.com/KenoshaAreaCVB
www.Twitter.com/KenoshaAreaCVB
(800) 654-7309
© 2011 Kenosha Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. Any reproduction or reprint of this sample story, or portion thereof, without written permission from the
Kenosha Area Convention & Visitors Bureau is prohibited. Prices subject to change. Photos courtesy of Studio 17 Portraits and the Kenosha Area Convention &
Visitors Bureau.