SUBMITTED PHOTO/CHRIS FOX PHOTO
Villa Park’s Pioneer Garden and Feed, which opened in 1918, will close this month. Angie and Tony Rojek, who bought the business seven years ago, announced on Aug. 2 that they had sold the property, and that the business would soon close. The Rojek family is pictured in front of the business, which is located at 118 S. Villa Ave. Angie and Tony Rojek are pictured (above) in the front row. Their sons Carter (left) and Ethan (right) are in the back row. Carter graduated from Willowbrook High School earlier this year. Ethan graduated from Willowbrook in 2018. A plaque on the south side of the business notes that Pascal Skemp purchased the land and began running the Villa Park Feed and Milling Company from Pioneer’s current location in 1918. In the early years, the store sold chicken feed and fertilizer to local farms and fruit orchards. “It’s an institution in Villa Park,” said Villa Park Village President Nick Cuzzone of Pioneer Garden and Feed. “We’re definitely going to miss it.” Angie Rojek stated on Aug. 5 that she couldn’t yet announce who bought the property. She said the buyer will be making an announcement soon. She did say the 104 year-old building would come down. “It will no longer be Pioneer—I can say that,” she said. “It won’t be a feed store anymore.”
