From the region ...

Migros (meegro, the "s" is silent) is one of the two main grocery store chains in the country, and is the oldest and the largest. Aus der Region, fur die Region -- from the region, for the region -- is their slogan for locally grown produce and locally raised animals. Villigen's own agrobusiness Schwarz supplies salad greens (and reds, as seen here) to Migros. This sign says "we're producing for Migros".

Migros was started in 1925 in the Zürich region by Gottlieb Duttweiler. At first, there were no shops, just one Ford Model-T van driving around neighborhoods, selling just six basic items at very low prices. The business took off from there, with many set-backs along the way, to become the largest retailer in Switzerland. They even have recreational "schools" for adults, with classes that range from language instruction (I attended German lessons there for a time) to vegetarian cookery to oil painting to Microsoft certification. Another interesting aspect is that the supermarkets don't sell cigarettes or alcohol. To read more about Migros in English, you can try this Wikipedia article.

20070813