R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press | Heather LeDuc, daughter-in-law of Supermarket Sweepstakes winner Jodi Wunder, scoops up merchandise from a shelf at Bougie’s Butcher Shop & Smoked Meats Thursday after almost entirely emptying the bottom shelf. The ensuing total was $2,320.05, higher than any past sweep arranged by the Daily Press.

ESCANABA — Before the supermarket sweep at Bougie’s Butcher Shop & Smoked Meats (formerly Viau’s Market) on Thursday, Heather LeDuc, runner for and daughter-in-law of winner Jodi Wunder, was nervous. After the minute-and-a-half run, Daily Press employees were. The cart of meat looked quite a bit fuller than the one with which the previous winner, Debbie Dubord, had walked out of Elmer’s County Market. Sure enough, the total came to $2,320.05, more than twice as much as the last run and over $200 higher than the record set by Robert Alwood at Super One Foods in 2016. Supermarket Sweepstakes is partially sponsored by local businesses, but the Daily Press picks up the bill at the market itself.

Cole Bougie, the owner of the shop at 1519 Sheridan Road, and employees were still filling the shelves of the meat cooler in the aisle when the winners and press arrived. They were bringing out some items that were usually kept behind the deli counter so that they would be readily accessible in addition to stocking larger, big-ticket items like loin and lobster and boxes of steak.

Wunder, whose winning entry form was plucked from over 900 that had been submitted across the 12 participating stores (Bosk Equipment & Party Rental, Bougie’s Butcher Shop & Smoked Meats, Elevated Exotics Cannabis Dispensary, Elmer’s County Market, First Bank, For the Love of Cupcakes, Highland Golf Course Escanaba, Jim’s South Side Grocery, KCL Embroidery & Kreations, Lakestate Industries, Riverside Chevrolet Buick GMC and UPutt Family Fun Center), said that she had been filling out and submitting as many slips as she could during the time Daily Press printed them. The one that was drawn had been submitted at Bosk Equipment, which Jodi said she wouldn’t normally enter simply because she doesn’t have a need for equipment, but her determination to increase her odds was based on a recent spot of fortune she’d encountered in another raffle.

“I put my name in a raffle for a bike for my grandson and I won it, and I said so maybe I’ll get lucky this year. So I filled every one of them out and I went through all over town putting ’em in.”

Arthritis in her hands makes grabbing things difficult, so Jodi chose to let her daughter-in-law complete the sweep. “I love her to death because she loves my son to death,” she said of LeDuc.

The pair had visited Bougie’s the day before and perused the selection once again Thursday morning before the 11 a.m. start time rolled around. Jodi said she might want chips if the store had the kind she liked, but in the end, the haul just consisted of meat and seafood.

Bougie brought out a cart for LeDuc to use. The plan had been to just fill handbaskets, but it was clear that a few of the packages of meat that had been prepared would not fit in a basket.

Heather started from the front door with the cart and beelined for the loaded cooler. Beef, pork, lobster, fish and chicken flew from shelves to arms to cart. Some smaller packages of jerky and other things hit the floor, but LeDuc didn’t stop. A couple bags of frozen chicken nuggets that landed in the cart after the 90 seconds were up were removed. LeDuc and Wunder were not allowed to take the items on the floor that had missed the cart, either; those went back into the freezer and cooler.

With only one register, the ringing-up process was paused once to allow a couple purchasing a few small parcels to check out. Another customer, who was buying only a jug of milk, was handled by an employee who simply counted out the change for her $10 bill in the back.

When all was said and done, the illuminated letters on the register at read $2,320.05. Five boxes were loaded into the SUV out front. Wunder said she has a good amount of fridge and freezer space at home, but if there’s any overflow, it will find a place at LeDuc’s.