“Ordering stuff on the internet doesn’t inspire you,” he said. But first, of course, they want to make their home cozy, and Trimberger thinks a real store, where you can walk through and touch items, is much better than buying through a computer screen. He has received business from people who have moved to Door County permanently because they can work remotely. But the holiday season was a success, and the business has been evolving steadily since then. Opening Bliss at The Marketplace in late November 2020 was a bit of a rush, said Trimberger, who decorated the new space for Christmas in 10 days – a task that usually consumed two weeks in the much smaller store on Jefferson Street. “We will be choosy in the partners we bring in.” “The Marketplace is going to transition – to what, I am not sure,” Reitz said. ![]() The concept for The Marketplace is organic and still growing, so Trimberger and Reitz are looking for businesses that are independently owned and complementary to each other to offer shoppers a new experience. Leave it to Todd and Kelton to take something like that, and preserve it, and make it new for our community.” The windows of Bliss decked out for the holidays. “We were incredibly concerned about it – a big building, with historic sentiment. “Anytime you lose an anchor tenant like the Younkers store, it is a huge hit,” said Pam Seiler, executive director of Destination Sturgeon Bay. ![]() The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation also supported the project with a $275,000 grant to the City of Sturgeon Bay that enabled the installation of an elevator in the shaft when the original plan was to leave it closed. The City of Sturgeon Bay contributed $100,000 for the public restrooms and $25,000 to eliminate the tunnel and skywalk behind the store. “We tore off the tile and carpet and refinished the wood.” “People asked us to leave the copper awning and to leave the wood floors,” Trimberger said. The biggest change from the outside is that the windows on Louisiana, which had been blocked by masonry, now use energy-efficient glass, giving the face a handsome, inviting look. So the stairways and railings might not meet today’s requirements, but the state’s historic-preservation building code allows them to remain. “Otherwise, you’d almost have to tear it down.” “The other thing that helped a ton is that when a building is old, they don’t make you update it to today’s standards,” he said. Dave Phillips, the construction executive for Bayland Buildings who supervised the Bliss project, said his team found the building’s original drawings, which guided workers in moving and removing walls. ![]() The space has been transformed, but the core is original. It is also the location of Shear Style Plus salon, which moved from Institute and has been relabeled as KMS. It sells crafts, attire and organic dog food, mostly from Wisconsin makers. A wall along the edge of the mezzanine has been removed, revealing the original wrought-iron railing and opening up the space that a second branch of De Pere’s SmithMaker Artisan Co. The three stores flow into each other with no barriers, and they complement each other through an emphasis on design, quality and occasional bits of the unexpected. The design was unbelievable, and I have been having a great time there since.” But from the minute I walked in there, it was just delightful. My business was really hurting, so I thought I had nothing to lose. “I went in there kind of reluctantly,” said Monticello owner Diane Magolan, who has run her store on Jefferson for 26 years. The ground floor is home to Bliss, Lola May’s women’s boutique, and a branch of Monticello, nicknamed Monti, that carries an array of items such as pajamas and cashmere sweaters, but leaves the more complex and customized wardrobe outfitting for the larger and more intimate main store on Jefferson Street. Kelton Reitz, reimagined the building as the new home of their longtime Jefferson Street store and The Marketplace. ![]() “I’ve heard a lot of people say it reminds them of Marshall Field’s in Chicago,” said Todd Trimberger, who, with his partner, Dr. In November of 2020, Bliss and The Marketplace brought a blast of classy retail to the building. It turned out that city administrators didn’t have to look very far to find a perfect fit. Photo by Brett Kosmider.Ī centerpiece of old downtown Sturgeon Bay sat empty for two years, leaving the city scrambling to find a tenant who was willing to take on the former Younkers building at the corner of 3rd Avenue and Louisiana Street. Bliss Home Decor at The Marketplace Sturgeon Bay has helped rejuvenate a cornerstone property in the city.
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