Lake Country This Month

Page 4A • FREEMAN & ENTERPRISE LAKE COUNTRY August 2016 End of the Leash PEWAUKEE 115 W. WISCONSIN AVE. • 262-696-6052 MUKWONAGO 325 BAY VIEW RD. • 262-363-3338 Open 7 days a week! • Mon.-Fri. 9am-7pm • Sat.-Sun. 9am-4pm www.endoftheleash.com ★ Gift Certificates Available • Over 34 Varieties of Natural Foods • All Natural Treats • Flower Essences • Aromatherapy & Homeopathics • Fun Toys, Collars, Leashes & Bowls • Great Clothes for the Dog & Dog Lover • Unique Items for the Pet Lover! • Ask About All Our Frequent Buyer Programs! 251233001 Over 34 Varieties of Natural Foods 247929010 It's the most colorful of seasons! This autumn plan your next family-fun outing in Waukesha County. Check out our Fall Fun Guide for local events, concerts, pumpkin farms, haunted houses and much more! Inside the September edition. F F U N A L L Events/Festivals/Concerts/Theater/Farmer's Markets/Pum pkin Farms/Haunted Houses/And More! Your guide to celebrating the most colorful season in Waukesha County! Published by The Freeman Newspapers • Fall 2016 249176007 By Jake Meister Enterprise Staff OCONOMOWOC — Mark and Sue Neumann, owners of Ten Points Properties, Inc., have reached an agreement with American Legion Post 91 to purchase the building that once held the Spin- nakers restaurant, the two parties announced recently. Should the deal between the two sides and the con- struction of a new building on the site be approved by the city of Oconomowoc, Mark Neumann said, the property will feature an undisclosed number of residential condo- minium units. The property also will maintain a restau- rant, American Legion Post 91, and most public parking stalls that are presently there. The two sides are also working together to keep the post's monuments and stat- ues in a premium location on the property. Both Mark Neumann and American Legion Post 91 declined to divulge the value of the potential deal. Mark Neumann also declined to say how many residential condominium units will be located on the property or the expected cost of each unit. He does expect that the prop- erty will have five stories in the front and six in the back, though he cautioned that number is not definitive. The building is zoned for 70 feet, said Tom Strey, the head of the post's building and grounds committee at the time of Spinnaker's closure. The number of parking stalls that will remain is also unde- termined, though Mark Neu- mann said the "vast majori- ty" of the public parking will be retained. 'You guys are an important part of this community' Speaking directly to Strey and American Legion Post 91 Commander Bill Winkels, Mark Neumann, who repre- sented Wisconsin's 1st Con- gressional District from 1995 to 1999, said keeping the post at the property is paramount. "You talked about how many people told you that the restaurant should stay. I want to tell you that in my mind, the most important thing is that the Legion stays because you guys are an important part of this com- munity," said Neumann. He said redevelopment of the property will be similar to others built in the com- munity.. "This development, all the way from your boat launch to the public beach, every- thing that has been done to Veterans Memorial Park, of course, is so beautiful. This is just like the last piece (of the redevelopment of the Lac La Belle frontage)." American Legion Post 91 has owned the property since it was donated to the group in 1950. Strey said the group was "blindsided" in February when the previous owners of Spinnakers Bar and Restau- rant said they would be clos- ing the business. The post then decided it had two options: sell or lease the property. He said the post eventually decided it didn't want to deal with the issues associated with leasing. The group of potential buyers reached four, with Ten Points Properties, Inc. eventually being selected in part because they promised to deliver exactly what the Legion post was looking for: a property that would bene- fit the Oconomowoc area. "The city will like it; the community will like it," Strey said. Email: jmeister@conleynet.com Andrea Fencl/ Special to the Freeman Mark Neumann of Ten Points Properties, Inc. said there will still be plenty of parking space at the redeveloped Spinnakers site. Potential buyers announced for old Spinnakers building By Karen Pilarski Freeman Staff DELAFIELD — For busi- nesses along Highway C/Genesee Street, it has been a long summer. The recon- struction of Highway C has started with the first phase being from Mill Street to Oakwood Drive. At the north end of downtown workers are rebuilding a bridge over the Bark River. The work is expected to be completed by November. Candy Treml, owner of Lake-Farm Furnishings, is excited to see how the area will be after the construction is done. She explained that there used to be a long guard rail. "It was super ugly and full of weeds," Treml said. The work, however, has given new businesses more challenges, such as slow sales. Treml has heard cus- tomers complain about the noise from the construction and how hard it is to find parking. She said City Hall and Chamber of Commerce. staff have tried to help with some of the difficulties. Lake-Farm Furnishings opened in May. Treml's busi- ness has vintage and newly built products. She has enticed customers by using social media. "I also make signs and attend the Delafield Area Chamber of Commerce meetings," she said. While construction has been problematic, Amy Kep- peler, owner of The Barn Owl, said the weather has played a part in slowing sales. Her store offers hand- picked lines of clothing and home furnishings. But due to the hot, humid weather, she doesn't have many peo- ple looking for fall clothes such as jackets or sweaters. Keppeler has been active on social media to share her message. Getting creative Tracey Catarozoli, owner of Sally's Sweet Shoppe, opened her Delafield location in March. She also has a bak- ery in Genesee Depot. Both locations offer beautiful cake designs and delicious bakery items. Catarozoli said social media has been a saving grace for her and other area businesses during construc- tion season. She sent out a Facebook message, asking potential customers to come to downtown Delafield and check out the businesses, despite the construction. Normally her posts generate about 300 views; this one had about 24,000 views. Catarozoli describes her- self as community-oriented and wanted to speak for all the businesses. "We are in this together," she said. The bakery tries to be cre- ative in getting people through the door, at least to network for future sales. To appeal to children, Cataro- zoli sells "unicorn poop," a tie-dyed sugar cookie. Kelli Stuckart, co-owner of children's store Tadpoles, had a front window display with a construction theme when the project started. The store also gave construction hats to children. "Yes, construction makes business slower, but that is why you have to be creative," she said. Stuckart said the store developed a loyalty program to encourage business and she uses social media to share messages and show the store is still up and running Keeping it in perspective Stuckart's store has been in business for 15 years, with 10 years at the current loca- tion. She has seen other Delafield construction pro- jects during that time. "I think the county is doing a nice job by keeping at least one lane of traffic open," she said. She feels pretty fortunate that the Highway C project isn't as extensive as some other construction projects in the county. "You can't forgo construc- tion; things need to be repaired," she said. Waukesha County Project Engineer Gary Evans also puts things into perspective. Workers had to build the Highway C bridge into two halves, which makes the pro- ject slower. In his opinion, the open traffic lane allows for access, but also slows things down. Evans said if the whole road- way was shut down, the pro- ject would be completed quicker. He added, however, that then there would be no access. Email: kpilarski@conleynet.com Charles Auer/Freeman Staff The construction on Highway C has slowed sales for busi- nesses near the project. DELAFIELD Coping creatively with construction season Business owners remain upbeat despite Highway C project

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