GREEN BAY - When Bosse's Newsstand and Tobacco Shop marks 125 years in business in 2023, it will do so in a new, yet-to-be-determined location.

Bosse's, a fixture in downtown Green Bay since 1898, will have to move out of its longtime space at 220 Cherry St. by Dec. 1 and is actively searching for a new location, said Lisa Mitchell, who manages the shop with her husband, Steve. It will be only the second time Bosse's has had to move since it opened in downtown Green Bay.

This move was not planned, Mitchell said, but is necessary because the owner of its space, TAJ Enterprises LLC, modified its original plan to add five floors of apartments to the structure, which it originally presented to city officials in November 2021.

Redevelopment plans for the building have been in flux since then. The site was once a multistory Masonic lodge, but a fire destroyed the upper two floors, leaving the single-floor commercial building that is currently home to Bosse's. The building's history made it difficult to assess how many additional floors the existing foundation could support. It wasn't until May that Peter Nugent, of TAJ Enterprises, and the city's Redevelopment Authority finalized terms of a development agreement and financial assistance for the project.

Evolving state of redevelopment project now recommends demolition

Nugent said the change of plans arose mid-summer as engineers and architects continued to study plans to add floors to the existing building. Nugent said consultants ultimately found it would be more cost-effective to demolish the existing building and construct a new, mixed-use, six-story building on the site.

"We're dealing with existing infrastructure, foundations and what's on the site," Nugent said. "It's a rather complicated project."

The revised project plan adheres to many of the same details as the prior plans: 10,000 square feet of first floor commercial space topped with 57 apartments on five floors and a skywalk connection to the Cherry Street parking ramp.

Still, Neil Stechschulte, Green Bay's economic development director, said the changes are significant enough to require a modification requiring approval from the Redevelopment Authority and City Council. Stechschulte said he was aware Nugent continued to evaluate construction plans and they had already discussed another amendment, to update the construction timeline.

"If the first floor will have to be demolished, city staff's recommendation would be that it come back for a revised project description and development agreement," Stechschulte said.

Nugent said the change of plans means Bosse's would not be able to stay in its longtime location.

"I understand the small business, family-owned aspect of it," Nugent said. "(The location) means a lot to them."

Bosse's notified customers Friday of its search for a new home

Mitchell on Friday emailed customers details about the move with a request for input on where Bosse's should locate and an ask for fond memories of Bosse's as the family prepares to celebrate 125 years in business. Mitchell said the short timeline adds to the pressure to find a suitable new home.

"We are a four-generation family with three generations working at the business today," Mitchell said in emailed responses. "We want to celebrate our 125th year and beyond, but we need a new home to do it!"

She told the Press-Gazette that Bosse's occupies about 1,800 square feet of space and would need about the same. Mitchell would consider more or less space, depending on the price, location and nearby parking. They'd consider spaces in Green Bay, De Pere, Ashwaubenon, Allouez or other surrounding areas.

"We have a very small window of time to find something," Mitchell said. "Parking and walking traffic would both be something we are looking for and that are very important."

Downtown Green Bay Inc. Executive Director Jeff Mirkes said Bosse's "belongs downtown" and that it's a priority to keep Bosse's in downtown Green Bay for generations to come. He said the Downtown Green Bay staff has been working with the Mitchells to find a new home that meets their needs.

"We value Bosse's as a key, long-term, important, institutional business in our downtown," Mirkes said. "We're very hopeful (the find a new location) in the downtown. We're assisting however we can."

With a business like Bosse's, which has so much history and a dedicated customer base, Mirkes said he thinks about the future "in decades," rather than years.

Managers of Green Bay's oldest store are its third generation

Art and Joe Bosse founded the eponymous newsstand and tobacco shop in 1898 on the corner of Cherry and Adams Streets. For reference, that's one year before Seroogy's chocolatier opened in De Pere and 12 years before Kaap's Old World Chocolates opened on Main Street. The Bosses' employed newsboys to sell a variety of papers and operated a distribution business, as well.

Joe Bosse hired a 12-year-old Norman Liebert as a paperboy in 1922. Liebert would take over the business in 1943 when Bosse died.

Steve Liebert, Norman's son, started to help out at the store in the 1950s and he and his wife, Sandra, took over when Norman retired in the 1990s. He still owns the business today. Liebert's daughter, Lisa, and her husband Steven Mitchell, represent the third generation of the family and continue to run the business today. Lisa Mitchell said their daughter, Kayla — the fourth generation — now works at Bosse's, too.

Bosse's remained a fixture on the corner of Cherry and Adams until 1981 when downtown redevelopment forced Bosse's to relocate a half-block west, to 220 Cherry St. The original site became a parking lot for the Boston Store in Port Plaza Mall, according to Press-Gazette archives.

Lisa recalls visits to the old store after gymnastics classes at the YMCA and the joy of picking out an ice cream treat from the cooler. She remembers the Coca-Cola machine by the front door stocked with bottles of soda.

But right now, Mitchell is more interested in your memories of Bosse's.

Share your memories of Bosse's to celebrate 125 years

Mitchell plans to publish customers' stories and recollections as the family prepares to celebrate Bosse's 125th anniversary next year. She said that puts Bosse's up there as the oldest retailer in the city.

Memories of any sort are welcome, but the family really would like stories about the original location on Cherry and Adams. She said many customers have already shared how Bosse's reminds them of the era when "downtown Green Bay was a bustling center of the city and the place to shop."

"Many people mention how they remember stopping in after church on Sunday as a kid with their family to get the Sunday newspapers," Mitchell said. "Other people mention looking forward to buying the latest comic books."

Mitchell said customers who do want to share anything can contact the shop by calling (920) 432-8647 or via email at bossesnews@att.net.

Contact Jeff Bollier at (920) 431-8387 or jbollier@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JeffBollier. 

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Downtown Green Bay's Bosse's needs new home before 125th anniversary