SIOUX CITY — For more than a century, Sioux City was one of the primary food distribution centers of the Upper Midwest. Unique merchandising artifacts from this era are showcased in “Vintage Sioux City Coffee Memorabilia,” a recently opened Sioux City Public Museum exhibition.
From the 1870s to the 1970s, more than a dozen wholesale grocery dealers were based in Sioux City. They distributed food products to retail stores in Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and Minnesota. The businesses left behind an array of tin containers, paper bags and wood shipping crates marked with logos of the wholesalers and the brands of coffees they sold.
Sioux City wholesale grocers represented in the exhibition include William Tackaberry, C. Shenkberg, O.J. Moore, Tolerton and Warfield, Pratt-Mallory, Robb-Ross and many more.
The exhibition, which draws from private collectors and the museum’s collection, will be on display through Feb. 28, 2021. Protective masks or face coverings as well as social distancing are required at the Sioux City Public Museum, 607 Fourth St. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call 712-279-6174 or visit SiouxCityMuseum.org.
