An iconic Northeast Wisconsin sporting goods store announces its closing.
Denis Sport Shop will close its final location in Ashwaubenon later this year.
At one point, the store had locations in Green Bay and Appleton.
It first opened in 1913, the family says, selling bikes in downtown Green Bay.
A century later, the business is still in the family.
"Grandma Denis lived to be 102 and was active in the store into her mid 90s," John Denis said, current president of Denis Sport Shop. "Just the families that would come in more so in those era, I would say 50% of the people we knew by first name."
It was no easy decision, Denis says, to close the store his family kept open for generations.
Health, a few slow winters and growing competitions, he says, helped make the decision.
Employees were told Tuesday.
No final closing date has been set. The store is expected to remain open for the next couple of months while it clears out its inventory.
"One thing we'd certainly like to say thank you to the consumers, the customers that have come in over the years and the employees we have today and the ones we've had over the years," Denis said. "I mean that's really what it's always been about, so thank you."
