The Musa’s Story
A business based on sausage wasn’t a thought in our minds when we (the Krasniqi family) arrived in the United States from Kosova over 20 years ago. However, making sausage was a way for us to hold onto a part of our Albanian heritage—a heritage we’re now proud to share with thousands of loyal customers. This is our story.
From Kosova to Madison, WI
In June 1999, we arrived in the United States—out of necessity and safety. NATO bombs were landing on Serbian targets in our homeland of Kosova, and two months earlier, strangers knocked on the door of our home in Prishtina and gave us two minutes to leave. Three generations fled to Macedonia before arriving in Madison, Wisconsin at the suggestion of a Kosovar friend who lived here.
We quickly settled in Madison — all of us finding full-time work (except for our youngest son, Korab, who was still in elementary school at the time). However, we always held out hope that we’d return to our beloved country.
Holding onto our family history
As we acclimated to life in the United States, we also wanted to make sure that we held tight to our Albanian heritage — and food is an important part. For our family, sausage isn’t just our heritage — it’s our history.
Over 50 years ago in Prishtina, our family opened the city’s first meat market. Musa’s father, a local shepherd and farmer, quickly became known as “The Butcher.” His specialty? Authentic, Old World, Albanian-style sausage. Musa helped his father run his store, learning his craft — and when we fled Kosova, his father’s sausage recipe was one of the possessions we made sure we kept safe. Even though everything about our new life was unknown, one thing remained the same: Musa was going to continue to make sausage.
The sausage-making begins
We bought new equipment and got started, thinking we’d make sausage for our own family. Our tiny kitchen became our prep area, and our smoker was housed in our garage. Making sausage is an involved process—grinding the meat, blending it with spices, stuffing and filling, and smoking. In the beginning, we’d make 25 pounds at a time, and Musa would have to get up and go to the smoker every two hours to make sure the sausages weren’t drying out.
Three months after our first batch, word spread fast about our sausage. Other Kosovar families knew Musa as the “kasap” — the butcher who learned the trade from his dad. They knew the sausage was going to be authentic—and delicious. We started taking orders from other Kosovar families who had settled in the Madison area, all of whom were looking for the familiar food they craved from home.
A home operation becomes a business
Word of mouth built our business up to the point where we knew we needed a bigger operation—specifically, a commercial kitchen. We started to build out Musa’s, and as we did, more opportunities started to emerge. Our first grocery store partner was Burbach’s Market, a now-closed store in nearby Deforest. That turned into selling our sausages in six Woodman’s grocery stores in the Madison and Milwaukee areas. Knowing that there was a demand for the sausage beyond our part of Wisconsin, we began a robust online business, where customers all over the United States have the opportunity to have our sausage shipped to their doors.
As we’ve grown, our children Doni, Bini, Korab, and their spouses have all pitched in to help us with aspects of the business. Doni is our sales expert, Bini’s wife Diana handles our marketing, and Korab is a great resource for any financial or operational challenges that come up. Our close-knit family is what’s allowed our business to grow and thrive.
Made with care for our customers
Today, Musa’s is the most well-known Albanian sausage in the world — a title we’re very proud of. Recently on a trip back to Kosova, an Albanian woman started talking to us, asking us what we were doing in the US. Musa replied that he was making sausage. The woman excitedly asked, “Are you Musa, the owner of Musa's Albanian Suxhuk?”
Our sausage has grown to be a food people depend on as a part of their own traditions. Albanians across the United States use our sausage for their New Year’s, Eid-al-Fitr, Easter, and Christmas celebrations. And, independent of holidays, many eat it as a regular part of their everyday meals.
In that way, we’re not so different from our adopted Wisconsin home, where people grill brats and hot dogs during the summer, having cookouts and meals with family and friends.
If you’re Albanian and looking for food that reminds you of home, give us a try. Or, if you’re simply a person who respects homemade, quality meat, give us a try as well. Our sausage won’t disappoint.
Shop our sausage
Head here to purchase the mild and hot varieties of our classic sausage as well as our new Beef Snack Sticks and Beef Summer Sausage.
Find Musa’s sausage in these stores:
-
Euro Grocery
2162 Silas Deane Hwy B, Rocky Hill, CT 0606Euro Grocery
565 Boston Post Rd, Orange, CT 06477Euro Grocery
200 Park Rd, West Hartford, CT 06119Balkan Market
507 Frost Rd, Waterbury, CT 06705 -
Balkan Market
28811 S Tamiami Trail, Bonita Springs, FL 34134Sara's Mediterranean Food Market
1751 S Missouri Ave, Clearwater, FL 33756 -
Brookhaven Marketplace
7516 S Cass Ave #30, Darien, IL 60561Brookhaven Marketplace
19818 South La Grange Road, Mokena, IL 60448Brookhaven Marketplace
100 Burr Ridge Pkwy, Burr Ridge, IL 60527Prodavnica
152 N Gary Ave, Carol Stream, IL 60188Prodavnica European Store
5422 N 2nd St, Loves Park, IL 61111 -
Ledo Grocery
131 Brookeridge Dr, Waterloo, IA 50702Bosna Grocery
3009 Merle Hay Rd UNIT 4, Des Moines, IA 50310 -
Atko Market and Bakery
31245 Eight Mile Rd, Livonia, MI 48152
-
Besa Meat and Grocery
2902 Middletown Rd, The Bronx, NY 10461Dardania Mini Mart
460 Bradley Ave, Staten Island, NY 10314Iliria Food’s
2323 65th St, Brooklyn, NY 11204International Food Market & Café
376 Jefferson Rd, Rochester, NY 14623 -
FM International Foods
1402 Main Ave, Fargo, ND 58103 -
Euro Market
26 S Sproul Rd, Broomall, PA 19008 -
Eddies Euromart
12243 Northwest Hwy #300, Dallas, TX 75228 -
Amanah Food Mart
1301 W Edgerton Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53221Fresh Mart
531 A St, Sun Prairie, WI 53590Istanbul Supermarket
745 S Gammon Rd, Madison, WI 53719Parthenon Food’s – European Market
8415 W Greenfield Ave, West Allis, WI 53214Woodman’s
1099 S Grand Ave, Sun Prairie, WI 53590
2819 N Lexington Dr, Janesville, WI 53545
W124N8145 WI-145, Menomonee Falls, WI 53051
7145 120th Ave, Kenosha, WI 53142Woodman’s East
3817 Milwaukee St, Madison, WI 53714Woodman’s West
725 S Gammon Rd, Madison, WI 53719