A very common question I receive when public speaking is whether or not the Balistreri family associated with the Sendik grocery stores has Mafia connections. The short answer is no. No one associated with the Mafia in Milwaukee ever, to my knowledge, had any interest in the grocery store. And the family that operates the stores is not closely related to the Balistrieri family identified as the core “mob family” in Milwaukee.
The Balistrieri name is fairly common in Milwaukee, and the majority of them had no organized crime connections. This being common and the Italian naming tradition was likely very frustrating for cousins of Frank Balistrieri who were named… Frank Balistrieri. Even without the law enforcement harassment, it must have been a topic of conversation frequently.
The Balistreri spelling is even more common – in fact, the most common variation of about a half dozen different spellings. No one with this spelling was ever identified as a Mafia member or associate. Because of how close the Italian community was in Milwaukee, it’s quite likely some of them had cousins who were Mafia-affiliated, and some of them probably placed bets with mob bookies. But generally speaking, no one named Balistreri was of any real concern for the police or FBI.
The names Balistreri, Balistrieri, Balestrere and other variations all come from the same small village in Sicily: Santa Flavia, or within a few miles of there, such as Aspra or Sant’Elia. It is entirely possible that all of the descendants in America today could trace their roots back to a single man in Sicily. To my knowledge, this has never been done, but the family trees of Milwaukee Italians have far more overlap than disparity.
Rather than just answer “no,” this question is a good opportunity to give a brief history of the Sendik chain and its growth in Milwaukee. It serves as a great example of Italian influence without a single “hush hush” story to taint its legacy.
The first store (a fruit stand) was started in 1926 by Salvatore Balistreri and his sons Anthony and Thomas. The story goes that Salvatore ordered a stove and did not understand English well, so when asked his name, he thought the question was about delivery and told the seller to “send it.” When the delivery man arrived in the neighborhood, he was looking for a “Mr. Sendik” and it was linked to Salvatore because he was the only one who recently ordered a stove. Whether this story is true or legend is anyone’s guess, but some of the family adopted “Sendik” as a last name.
Thomas Balistreri was born on November 26, 1909, in the small fishing village of Sant’Elia, Sicily to Salvatore and Rosaria Balistreri. Thomas was the fourth of six children. As a boy, Tom grew up fishing on the Mediterranean Sea and farming in the olive and lemon groves.
At the age of 17, before Tom was old enough to be forced into Mussolini’s army, he left Italy for America to meet his father, Salvatore, and his brothers, Tony and Frank. When he arrived in the United States, he moved into Milwaukee’s Third Ward in a home that his father and brothers were sharing. Tom’s first job in the U.S. was working in a macaroni factory making pasta.
Tom’s uncle George (?) and father had been cultivating a successful wholesale fruit and vegetable trade in Milwaukee – peddling produce by cart. When George returned to Italy, Tony took over the business. He would buy produce on Broadway, known as commission row. The demand eventually became so great for the quality produce and service that Tony provided, that he asked his brother, Tom, to join him in the business.
In May 1926 Tony, Tom and their father opened the first Sendik’s store on the southeast corner of Oakland Avenue and Capitol Drive in Shorewood. Three years later, on July 4, 1929, the three teamed up again to open a second store in Shorewood on Downer Avenue.
As the Great Depression began to take hold, the Balistreri family banded together. Tom’s brother, Frank, who was an engineer, came into the business after his employer leapt from an open window to end his financial troubles. Brother Ignatius was a bricklayer and joined his father and brothers in the business when he was laid off. The youngest brother, Joe, also entered the business at this time. Their mother worked in the business as well – handling the office work. Together the family bought the land where the Oakland Avenue store stands today.
In 1949, Tom Balistreri — known at Sendik’s as Mr. B — opened a third Sendik’s fruit and vegetable market on the corner of Silver Spring and Lake drives in the heart of Whitefish Bay. At that time, Whitefish Bay was sparsely populated compared to Shorewood and was not considered by Tom’s brothers to be a good location for a store. The business flourished. Its opening marked the retirement of Frank and Joe from the family business and created separate legacies for the children of Tom, Tony and Ignatius. Tom ran the Silver Spring store, Tony operated Downer Avenue and Ignatius ran the Oakland Avenue store. Although the stores share a common name, from that point forward, the Sendik’s stores have been independently owned and operated.
Tony Balistreri legally renamed himself Tony Sendik, while the others maintains the Balistreri name but operated stores with the Sendik brand. Branches of the family have Sendik’s Food Market, and Sendik’s Fine Foods (Brookfield) but Nehring’s Sendik’s on Downer was sold outside the family.
Ignatius died in 1971. His sons, Ted and Steve Balistreri, then owned and operated the Oakland Avenue store until 1998, when they sold the right to operate the business to a non-family member.
Tom was joined in the business by his two sons, Ted and Tom Jr. In the early 1970s, the brothers took over the operation, and in 1975, the Whitefish Bay store expanded to include groceries, meat, deli, dairy, bakery, and wine and spirits.
Salvatore Sendik was always seeing opportunities. He was the one who suggested the owner of Palermo Villa restaurant get into the frozen pizza business after tasting another brand’s pizza. The restaurant sourced all its fresh produce from Sendik’s, and with one order Sal Sendik included a frozen pizza. Switch to making these, he said. In 1979, the Fallucca family sold the restaurant and started Palermo’s Pizza.
On January 2, 2001, Tom Jr sold his interest in the Silver Spring store to his brother Ted and Ted’s sons who own and operate the Whitefish Bay location to this day. Along with their sister Margaret, they continued to expand the business. They owned and operated Sendik’s stores in Bayside, Elm Grove, Franklin, Germantown, Grafton, Greendale, Greenfield, Hales Corners, Hartland, Marquette, Mequon, New Berlin, Oconomowoc, Waukesha, Wauwatosa, West Bend and Whitefish Bay.
On May 3, 2001, Sendik’s Fine Foods in Brookfield opened its doors for business. Thomas Balistreri, Jr. and his wife, Kathy were instrumental in opening the new 54,000 square foot facility, which is owned and operated by their sons, Tom, III and Jim Balistreri and daughters, Lori Barczak and Angela Wheeler. On May 4, 2002, a day after this Sendik’s store celebrated its first anniversary, Thomas Balistreri, Sr. passed away at the age of 92.
In 2012, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel named Sendik’s a “top employer” and they maintained that status for man yyears thereafter.
2015 saw two innovations, the start of Fresh2Go, a smaller version of Sendik’s for quick pickup items. Also, they became the first grocery store in Wisconsin to convert food waste into energy.
As of 2023, there were 18 Sendik’s locations and over 2,000 employees.
The original notes above were compiled on May 20, 2025. I had overlooked an article from May 6 of that year:
The Milwaukee Health Department (MHD) issued a Closure Order to Nehring’s Sendik’s on Downer (2643 N. Downer Avenue) after inspectors found fresh rat and mouse rodent droppings throughout the store’s basement and first-floor areas, including the kitchen and retail space.
According to an MHD statement, the closure followed a series of escalating warnings. During an April 15 routine inspection, droppings were initially found in a basement storage area. A follow-up inspection on April 29 uncovered expanded rodent activity in the dry food storage area, prompting an “Intent to Cease Order.” The business was warned that any further spread could lead to closure. That threshold was crossed during a final inspection on May 5. “Per MHD policy, an immediate Closure Order was issued,” said the department. The store must now clean and sanitize all affected areas and work with a licensed pest control provider. The closure will remain in effect at least overnight to allow for sanitation, pest monitoring and scheduling of a follow-up inspection. MHD emphasized that it “is committed to protecting public health,” and said licensed food establishments must meet basic sanitation standards.
Although this store is NOT owned by the Balistreri/Sendik family, I can’t helped but think they weren’t thrilled to have such a situation happen in a store with their name.