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After 93 years, a State Fair sausage staple is selling the family business

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5 months ago

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After 93 years, a State Fair sausage staple is selling the family business

This year’s State Fair marks the Mille family’s 93rd and final year of operating and owning the sausage brand.

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After this year’s State Fair, Mille’s Italian Sausage will no longer be operated by the Mille family — much to the disappointment of Italian sausage fans and State Fair-goers alike. The family business is the longest-running concession stand at the fair and has sold sausages for 93 years. 

The Mille family plans to hand off the business to a private owner, who will continue to use the Mille family name and their proprietary sausage recipe. Mike Mille said that the decision to sell the business was “bittersweet,” but necessary in lieu of his grandchildren leaving for college. 

He and the other Mille siblings are the primary partners of the business, while their adult children work full time. Without the grandchildren, the family was unsure whether operations could continue. 

“I just felt that the time was right to make that change,” he said.  

When the fair opened the Mille family was finalizing discussions with a buyer. While Mille did not disclose their name, he said that the new owner is someone who currently works at a concession stand at State Fair. 

Like many other fair-goers, Tom Saldudge headed over to Mille’s after hearing about the family’s final year of operating the business. He has been a customer since 2001 and has visited the sausage join every year since then. 

While he is disappointed by the news, Saldudge said that he’s willing to give the new owner a chance. 

“I’ll try it,” said Saldudge. “As long as they don’t change much, we’ll be fine.”

 Also standing in line was Mayor Cavalier Johnson, who had ordered a mild Italian sausage sandwich. “I saw the story that this is their last year, for 93 years. So I wanted to come back one last time,” said Johnson. 

Mike Mille began working for the concession stand when he was ten, after his grandparents founded the business. Sixty years later, Mike Mille prepares a batch of sausages for the family’s last State Fair. 

Mille expressed his gratitude to loyal customers. 

“We have to thank our loyal customers that have been great to the Mille family for many, many years. We have a beautiful following that is just tremendous.”  

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