Her innovations, friendliness helped build grocery business

As the only daughter working in a family-owned grocery store, Joan Nolte was assigned to develop the one area that drew the most customer contact: the delicatessen.

For years, Mrs. Nolte was the friendly face behind the counter at Gorski's Finer Foods in Roselle, where customers increasingly relied on her for far more than just luncheon meat.

When the family opened a second store in Bartlett, Mrs. Nolte developed the drugstore department, adding Hallmark cards and gifts to its selection.

Mrs. Nolte passed away on Sunday. The longtime Roselle resident was 73.

Under her watch, Gorski's developed a reputation for its homemade salads and appetizers, including the popular shrimp salad and cheese ball, before moving to read-to-serve dinners, such as Italian beef and fried chicken.

"Joan really worked to develop special recipes," said her brother, Andy Gorski. "Customers knew they couldn't find these things anywhere else."

Family members add that Mrs. Nolte saw early that families increasingly were turning to their neighborhood grocers for more prepared foods.

"That came from her own experience," says her oldest daughter, Kathy North of Downers Grove. "She worked long, hard hours, and when she came home she wanted to be able to put a good, healthy meal on the table."

Family gatherings were always filled with food, her children say. They fondly remember Christmas dinners that drew up to 60 people and featured an elaborate spread of store specialties.

Mrs. Nolte's parents, Julian and Jane Gorski, had opened their first store, a butcher shop with limited grocery items in Evanston, before purchasing Harve's Finer Foods in Roselle in 1958.

The couple's four children, Mrs. Nolte and her three brothers, Julian, Andy and Joe, all grew up working in the store. Later, the family purchased the land across the street, at the corner of Irving Park Road and Bokelman Street, where they opened their first supermarket in 1967.

During its hey day, family members say, Gorski's was one of only three grocery stores in Roselle. Its business flourished, they say, because of being a family-owned store, and its personal connections with customers.

When Mrs. Nolte and her siblings opened the second grocery store in Bartlett, they developed an entire shopping center, Bartlett Plaza, at Main Street and Devon Avenue, in 1978. They still run the center, though they closed the store in 1993.

In 2000, the siblings retired from the retail business after selling the Roselle store to make way for the Village Crossing Condominiums. At that point, Mrs. Nolte stepped down all together to spend more time with her three daughters and their families.

Through it all, the one avocation Mrs. Nolte made time for was playing bridge with friends, her daughter says.

"Bridge kept her mind sharp and provided a healthy outlet for her competitive nature," North says. There was a fringe benefit for her and them. "Her bridge guests were always willing taste testers for new recipes that might move to the deli."

Mrs. Nolte was preceded in death by her husband, Frederick. Besides her daughter, she is survived by her daughters Donna (Tom) Karkos of Hampshire and Debra (Keith) Dreger of Kenosha, Wis., as well as seven grandchildren.

Visitation will take place from 3-9 p.m. Thursday at Countryside Funeral Home, 333 S. Roselle Road in Roselle, before a 10 a.m. funeral Mass on Friday at St. Walter Church, 130 W. Pine Ave. in Roselle.