Nowicki’s Sausage Shoppe Spotlight: Alpena, Michigan

Five generations. Over 80 homemade specialties. More than 100 years of keeping Northern Michigan fed.

Nowicki’s Sausage Shoppe has been a family operation since 1917, when the first batch of sausage was made with recipes that have been passed down and refined with every generation. Today the Alpena location at 1224 N 2nd Avenue is operated by Brian Peterson, who purchased the business in 2018 and the historic building in 2020, carrying on a tradition that his family has built across more than a century.

The product lineup is extraordinary. Over 40 flavors of brats, smoked sausages, ring sausages, jerky, landjaeger, salami, and pickled sausage fill the cases. Every product is made fresh and in house, using many Michigan ingredients, the way fourth generation sausage maker Phil Nowicki always insisted it be done.

The building itself has its own story, having served as a German hall before becoming home to one of Northern Michigan’s most beloved food traditions. Nowicki’s now has three locations across Alpena, Rogers City, and Gaylord, bringing their craft sausage to communities throughout the northeast corner of Michigan.

Visit their website at nowickissausage.com for locations and to learn more.

Michigan Small Business Spotlight is proud to feature Nowicki’s Sausage Shoppe as one of Northern Michigan’s great multigenerational small business stories.