History Uncovered at Old Supermarket

The old Galipp’s Supermarket on North Main Street in downtown Schulenburg attracted quite a bit of attention recently.

The owners, Melissa Lewis Janik and her three children, hired a contractor to tear off the awning that shaded the sidewalk in front of the vacant building. When the awning came down, it revealed some long-hidden hand painted signs on the upper facade.

“The building has been for sale for a long time. After my dad passed away, we had it rented out for quite a few years. We’ve used it for storage for quite a while. We’ve had negotiations off and on over the years, but nothing ever went through.”

As recently as a month ago, Janik said, a potential buyer contacted her and they began negotiations.

“I thought it had a really good chance of going through,” she said. “The potential buyer had some really good ideas for the property.”

That deal fell through, however. Janik said she and her children started thinking about ways to make the building more attractive. Janik, who grew up in Schulenburg, now lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Her family still owns property near St. John, and they visit the area quite often.

“The one thing we all agreed on was that we hated that awning,” Janik said. “So we got an estimate for that and decided to start there. We had no clue those signs were under it. None whatsoever.”

Besides the “Galipp’s Super Market” painted on two sides of the building, the upper facade included two other signs – one for E.J. Chromcak Insurance Co. and another for Wesley’s Music Co.

E.J. Chromcak died last July at age 94. He was involved in the insurance business in Schulenburg and Houston from the 1950s until shortly before his death. Chromcak Insurance moved into a different building on Lyons Ave. in the 1980s, when it was known as Chromcak-Wagner Insurance. The business is now Bubela Insurance.

The sign painted above the southeast corner of the building was for Wesley’s Music Co. The owner, Wesley Heffenbrock, dealt and repaired jukeboxes for bars and other establishments.

Janik said Schulenburg resident Steve Simons has helped her manage the old Galipp’s property.

“I was getting pictures from Steve and the guys doing the work, and all of a sudden the history of the building unfolded,” she said. “We were so excited.”

Janik said the discovery made her rethink their plans for the building.

“When the signs appeared, the business side of me was like, ‘I still want to sell it,’” she said. “But the sentimental Schulenburg side of me makes me think, ‘I don’t want anyone to do anything to change it.’”

Janik’s father, the late geologist Ray Lewis, bought the old grocery store in the early 1990s after Galipp’s moved out. Dollar General rented the building for a while before they moved into their current location on US 77. Janik said her brother operated a nightclub in the building for a short time as well. The old Galipp’s building has remained vacant for more than a decade.

“It brings back a lot of memories, especially about my parents,” said Michael Galipp, one of the four brothers who ran the grocery store before it sold in 2001.

Galipp’s father Henry died unexpectedly in 1979. His mother Ruth along with Michael and his three brothers ran the grocery store for the next two decades. Galipp said the awning was added during a remodel that occurred in the late 1980s.

“We originally bought the store in 1961,” Galipp said. “On the corner of the building, where you see the ‘Galipp’s’ sign painted up and down, that used to be the original entrance. We did a remodel in the late 1980s. We bought out Chromcak-Wagner and Wesley Heffenbrock, and that’s where we expanded the store. We moved the produce and meat department to that side.”

Lewis said she plans to continue renovations to the front of the property and possibly remove some of the added-on structures in the rear.

“When visitors are in town, and even for Schulenburg residents, it won’t be such an eyesore,” Janik said.

“I would still like to sell the building since we’re not local, but I would love to see something really cool happen to it for downtown,” she added. “Or if anyone out there is interested in partnering with us to do something fun with the building.”

Janik said she is researching ways to restore and preserve the old signs.

The Galipp family built a new grocery store at 110 N. College St. in 1991. The Galipp family sold their supermarket to the Harlan’s Grocery chain in 2001. It has since changed hands, and the “new” Galipp’s in Schulenburg is now an Arlan’s Supermarket.