The Old Dutch Store
Address: 2696 Highland Drive
Telephone: 801-467-5052
Website: instagram.com/olddutchstore
District: Sugar House
“I worked with my dad at his deli when I was twelve years old. I would ride my bike downtown and go spend hours there on Saturdays. Little did I know I would own a deli, myself, someday.” Sharon Wuolukka, owner of The Old Dutch Store, grew up in Salt Lake City, the youngest of four children in a Dutch household where food, work, and family were intertwined.
Sharon’s parents had both immigrated separately from the Netherlands before meeting here, and she remembers her childhood shaped by their traditions, their language, and her father’s warmth. “People will still talk about my father, Pete. He was a charismatic man. Everyone loved Pete.” As a young child, she followed him to the shop downtown, standing behind the counter while he made sausages, worked the smokehouse, and served sandwiches just as she does today.
Sharon married young, raised her children, and later returned to college to study business management - fitting preparation for the unexpected turn her life would take. In 2003, when she and her first husband heard that the Old Dutch Store was for sale, they were immediately interested. The shop had been opened in 1978 by a Dutch couple, Adrianne and Els Groos, who were ready to retire. Sharon’s father had helped Adrianne and Els open the deli. He stayed on, eventually becoming part of the fabric of the store.
They transitioned carefully. “It worried people when it changed hands, because not everyone makes it right,” Sharon said. With her father’s guidance, they expanded the offerings to include Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish and Icelandic products while keeping the soul of the store intact. Over time, they made upgrades, added new specialties, broadened their bakery and deli, and continued the traditions customers cherished. Her father eventually took over making the bratwurst, a recipe the store still uses today. Her mother helped during shipments. Even when Sharon’s first husband passed away in 2009, the shop remained the family’s anchor.
Today, The Old Dutch Store is a beloved destination - a place people travel to when they are in Salt Lake, a place missionaries return to after serving in Europe, a place for families who hold tight to long-kept traditions. Sharon hears it constantly: “We drive by all the time and finally came in.” The goal is to get them to return, and most do. Some become regulars; some come only at Christmas; some become lifelong friends.
Much of the store’s heart now belongs to Sharon’s daughter, Katie, the fourth (wouldn’t Katie be the third generation?) generation in their long line of cooks. She is the shop’s chef and the creator of nearly everything that comes out of the kitchen: the bratwurst (from her grandpa’s recipe), the weisswurst, the marzipan cake, the stroopwafels made fresh on Wednesdays, the Dutch boterkoek, the soups, the rouladen, the spätzle, the oliebollen for New Year’s, and so much more. “Being with my daughter, that would be my favorite part,” Sharon said. “Everyone gets so busy in their lives as your children become adults with their family. So, I have enjoyed being with her, and that is what keeps us both going.”
Together they have built and expanded a place that feels both old world and deeply personal. The shelves hold countless imported goods - licorice that flies out the door, chocolate sprinkles, and the famous Dutch chocolate letters. Sharon sells close to 10,000 letters each year during the holiday season. For many families, receiving one in a wooden shoe on the morning of December 6th is a tradition that stretches back generations.
The deli counter is equally beloved, known for its “best liverwurst in town,” authentic bratwursts free of American embellishments, the Stockholm sandwich with lingonberries and smoked turkey, the hearty schnitzel, the Reuben dressed with house-prepared sauerkraut, the fresh salads and cabbage dishes, and countless European favorites that cannot be found elsewhere in Utah. Dutch customers often tell Sharon that her Kroketten are better than the ones back home.
Katie has even created the Dutch Social Club, a private nonprofit that brings people together for shared holidays and celebrations. They host a yearly Sinterklaas evening, a King’s Day gathering each April providing special Dutch meals at Millcreek Common. Through the club, members build long-lasting friendships with other Dutch families living throughout Utah and beyond - relationships that sometimes extend to shared dinners in faraway towns.
For Sharon, that feeling of closeness is the center of everything. The Old Dutch Store is more than shelves of imported goods, or a deli counter filled with specialties. It is a place where customers become friends, traditions are passed down, and a mother and daughter build something meaningful together every day. “It is a different relationship that we have with our customers,” Sharon said. “It is a real friendly place. And I think that is what keeps people coming back.”
