Kaufman’s SuperValu Store History

With roots buried deep in the soil of Ogle County, Illinois, the Kaufman family has served in the food industry and stewarded the SuperValu grocery store in Oregon for three generations. While attending high school, Bill Kaufman, the son of George and Frieda Kaufman, who owned and operated a local diner in Polo, IL, met his sweetheart Lila Gaetz, who had grown up on her family farm just outside of Polo where she had also attended a one room schoolhouse. Married while Bill served in the military after high school, Bill and Lila worked as dairy farmers in Polo after his return and would eventually build and operate their own meat processing facility on the outskirts of Mt. Morris, IL.

In 1964, the Kaufmans would enter the next chapter of their lives in the food industry and build their first of five grocery stores in their hometown of Polo, Illinois. Six years later in 1970, they bought the Eagle’s grocery store, which consisted of only a couple of aisles and had previously been the home of Piggly-Wiggly, transforming the building at 204 N. 4^th St in Oregon, originally built in 1945 as McGuire Implement, into Kaufman’s SuperValu.

Over the next years, Bill would complete two remodels that would eventually expand SuperValu to four and then six aisles to offer more grocery options and variety to the community. Eventually the Kaufmans would come to own and operate a total of five SuperValu stores in the communities of Oregon. Polo, Byron, Winnebago and Dixon. While Bill worked at his stores overseeing the day-to-day operations, Lila, a natural born artist, hand painted and crafted the large format signs on huge rolls of paper that appeared in the store windows and throughout the store which announced upcoming sales, introduction of new products and expansion of hours of operation. In a recent remodel of the deli one of these treasures was uncovered hidden within the wall which reads “Now Open 7 Days a Week.” Though we take it for granted today, anyone who remembers that time in our country’s history, knows what a big deal being open “7 days a week” was.

On February 28^th, 1965, Bill and Lila’s youngest son, Jim, was born at Warmolts’ Clinic in Oregon, IL, and would begin his career in grocery at the tender age of five years old helping stock the bottom shelf of the dairy department at the SuperValu in Polo. By March of 1978, Jim would officially begin working at age thirteen at the SuperValu in Oregon making $2.00 per hour. Alongside his father Jim learned every aspect of the business, working as stocker, bagger and checker over the next decade and eventually moving his way up to produce manager, night manager and finally store manager. Then in 1990 Jim would buy the SuperValu store in Oregon from his parents and commence a third remodel on the building. Sadly, in September of 1990 as the remodel was nearing completion, Bill passed away of heart failure leaving Jim to complete the remodel and carry on the legacy that Bill had begun. Expanding the store from six to eight aisles, the remodel which also included the addition of a separate deli department, was completed in October of 1990, with the assistance of outstanding community construction crews led by local craftsman Max Newcomer and Dick Zimmerman.

In 2000, Jim married his wife Kim and they began a fourth expansion of Kaufman’s SuperValu. As part of this remodel the house located just north of the store was physically lifted and moved off of its foundation to a property along the Rock River, and the store was expanded from 8 to 13 aisles and included the addition of a walk-in beer cooler as well as a wine and liquor department which would be the first time these items were made available at the store. Today the Kaufman’s Brews Crew hand curates a weekly selection of the most sought-after craft beers from across the country delivered fresh every Friday just in time for the weekend.

A fifth remodel of the front of the store and expansion of the backroom was completed in 2012 giving Kaufman’s SuperValu a new and updated look as well as some much-needed backroom space, which would become an essential piece of the puzzle when Covid hit in 2020 and we needed all that extra space for toilet paper! And that time in history, probably more than any other, stands as a testament to the fact that Kaufman’s SuperValu is far more than just a brick-and-mortar grocery store. It is a place to gather, to come together, and yes find what you need, but also to see someone you know, catch up on old times, discuss the future, or just chat about the weather. This is community. This is family. And this exists because at Kaufman’s SuperValu we have been blessed beyond words over the years to have the most dedicated team members from the surrounding community who work hard every day, day and night, rain or shine, even hitching up their sleighs when the roads are icy and covered with snow, through difficult and painful seasons in their own personal lives, to serve you, our customers, our extended family, with far more than groceries, but with a familiar smile and with something missing so much in our world today, good old-fashioned customer service.

Today, this Kaufman’s SuperValu Team along with Jim and Kim, and their 3 children, Ian, Quin and Karissa, can be seen continuing with remodels and serving the community and working hard throughout the store whether it’s unloading a truck in the back, cashiering, bagging groceries, carrying out for customers, stocking shelves, sweeping floors, manning the deli and meat departments, filling the front of the store with fresh produce and flowers or working in the office “7 Days a Week,” just like Lila wrote on that sign so many years ago. So come see us “7 Days a Week” and we are confident that you will find far more than what’s on your grocery list. Here you’ll find community.