{image1}Gerry O'Brien's European Grocery and Fran's Italian Deli, 6732 W. Fairview Ave., in the shadow of I-94, closed its doors on Wednesday, Aug. 31.
The small, neighborhood grocery store was run by O'Brien, raised in England by Irish parents, and his Italian-American wife, Fran, whom O'Brien met in Milwaukee.
Citing slow business and high costs, O'Brien had lately expressed interest in selling the shop, which for nearly a decade sold imported foods from Britain, Ireland and Italy, alongside basic groceries. After the closing of Bits of Britain is Waukesha a few years ago, O'Brien's had become one of the last places in town to stock a selection of British and Irish foods.
O'Brien is now working as a meatcutter at Grasch's Foods in Brookfield.
