Grocery Chain Reverses Decision to Remove Shepherd Express From Stores

Copies of the Shepherd Express are back in Milwaukee-area Pick n’ Save stores after a successful organizing campaign by publisher Louis Fortis.

Two weeks ago, Fortis asked readers to contact the headquarters of Roundy’s Supermarkets in response to the company’s decision to remove copies of the paper from all of its stores. The company explained the move as a “business decision,” but Fortis provides some additional background:

The Shepherd Express had been in all of Roundy’s grocery stores, both Pick ‘n Save and Metro Market, for the past 10 years. That changed on Wednesday, March 30, within hours of the issue with the Shepherd Express‘ endorsement of JoAnne Kloppenburg hitting the streets. Roundy’s emailed the Shepherd and told us that we had to get all of our newspapers out of their five Brookfield stores. Now we have been told to get our papers out of all of their remaining stores.


Over 1,000 readers heeded the call to action and convinced the company to reverse its decision.

“Going forward, the Shepherd will be available at all Roundy’s stores in the five-county Milwaukee metropolitan area,” reports Fortis.