Stevens Point's top business stories of 2022: Dunham's Sports development, Firehouse Subs, Kwik Trip
STEVENS POINT − Business news in the Stevens Point area this year was full of restaurant news, development updates, announcements from Team Schierl Cos. and more.
Let’s close out 2022 with a look back on the last 12 months and revisit some of the biggest stories and most popular business news of the year.
New stores are coming to Dunham’s Sports site
In November, we learned that a developer has plans to improve the property where Dunham’s Sports operates, adding retailers like Big Lots and Five Below.
City leaders approved plans to improve the existing site and add about 9,600 square feet to the west of the building, dividing up the space for multiple tenants. The city’s development director confirmed Big Lots and Five Below are two of the retailers who will open there.
The site was once home to Walmart, which was built and opened in 1992. The department store left the site when it opened at its current location in Crossroads Commons in 2006.
We had Marshfield Clinic Health System news
In January, Marshfield Clinic Health System announced development plans for Stevens Point, Wisconsin Rapids and Medford facilities.
The announcement included a new Stevens Point hospital, adjacent to Marshfield Clinic Stevens Point Center. The company also announced plans to start construction on a hospital adjacent to its clinic in Wisconsin Rapids, and it announced plans to expand services in Medford with a new medical facility.
Earlier this month, Marshfield Clinic Health System announced Dr. Susan Turney will step down as CEO in September 2023 after serving in the role since September 2014.
Charcoal Grill turned into Mi Pueblo
Earlier this year, readers asked what was happening with the former Charcoal Grill & Rotisserie in Plover. In April, we shared that Iliana Corona de Mondragon and Cristobal Mondragon were working to open a second location of Mi Pueblo Mexican Restaurant at Crossroads Commons in Plover.
They said they were excited to open close to stores like Walmart and TJ Maxx in an area with a lot of traffic, and shoppers could stop in and eat.
An investment firm owns the local paper mill
In April, we learned Pixelle Specialty Solutions and other connected paper mills had been sold to H.I.G. Capital, a Miami-based private investment firm with $48 billion of equity capital under management.
Pixelle had a four-mill specialty paper platform with mills in Ohio, Maine, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, operating 11 paper machines and producing more than one million tons of paper each year.
Team Schierl Cos. had a busy year
We covered a few announcements from Team Schierl Cos. this year.
In May, the company announced it would continue operating its 26 The Store convenience stores after selling the buildings and properties to a real estate investment trust.
The following month, Team Schierl Cos. announced it sold The Store brand to a Florida-based company. According to the announcement, the company sold the brand to West Hill Ranch Group, a division of Mountain Express Oil, out of Georgia. The announcement said Tim, Fritz and Bill Schierl will still be active in helping operate the business.
The Store also closed its Division Street location in July. Team Schierl Cos. announced it was closing the Division Street location because of the pending redesign of Fourth Avenue and Division Street, along with the changes in traffic patterns caused by COVID-19. Sales had dropped at that location during the pandemic.
Firehouse Subs opened in Stevens Point
Firehouse Subs opened its first central Wisconsin location in Stevens Point this summer, and readers were excited to read the news.
The company announced in April that Matt and Jodi Berndt would open a Firehouse Subs location in the Northpoint Shopping Center on Division Street.
The restaurant offers a variety of specialty subs, salads and catering options at more than 1,200 locations across the country.
Streetwise shares the latest business news
Readers liked getting Streetwise updates in roundups that featured the latest business news in the Stevens Point area.
Popular news included B’s Egg Rolls opening a new location in Plover after closing at its Division Street location in 2021, learning more about Guu’s on Main’s new owners, an update on the developments planned for Cousins Subs and Tommy’s Express Car Wash on Division Street and a look at renovations at Festival Foods and Save A Lot.
Los Victor’s closed and reopened
We answered reader questions when we found out why Los Victor’s Mexican Food California Style closed this year. The restaurant closed because of a lack of employees, and the owners told us in April they intended to reopen when they had a full team to run the business.
The restaurant reopened in May, bringing back its menu of burritos, tostadas, chimichangas, tortas, tacos, enchiladas, breakfast options and desserts to Division Street.
Railroad workers protested worker treatment
In May, about 20 railroad workers gathered early in the morning at the Southside Railroad Complex at an informational picket demonstration, protesting worker treatment by Canadian National Railroad.
A union representative for railroad workers in Stevens Point said workers had not had a raise or wage increase in the last three years, and there had been no increase in per diem or away-from-home expenses in the last seven years. Many workers work 500 miles or further from home, racking up costs like paying for gas, hotels and food.
The representative said workers also had no sick days, even while working outside in the snow, heat and during the pandemic.
Foremost Farms USA cut 118 jobs in central Wisconsin
In September, Foremost Farms USA, a dairy cooperative, notified the state Department of Workforce Development it planned to close production plants in Plover and Athens by the end of the year. The notification said both plants would be fully and permanently closed in December, and the closure would cut the jobs of 118 employees.
A spokesperson said the two facilities were aging and it would take a significant investment to bring the plants up to date with the technology needed. The company also pointed to labor challenges that created “financial inefficiencies.”
Nothing says Wisconsin like Kwik Trip
We saw quite a bit of love for Kwik Trip, this year, too.
We took a look into the phenomenon that is Kwik Trip throughout Wisconsin. Why do people love it so much? How did it grow into this Midwestern empire? We talked to the Kwik Trip social media team, the company’s real estate manager and to President and CEO Don Zietlow. We looked at the history and growth of the company. We talked to people who just love Kwik Trip – some as employees, and many as loyal customers.
And speaking of Don Zietlow, the company announced in November he would retire as president and CEO at the end of the year. Scott Zietlow will become the new president and CEO as a second-generation owner starting Jan. 1. He’s currently the chair of the board of Kwik Trip and will be retiring as professor of surgery in the trauma, critical care and general surgery division of Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, in order to serve in the new role at Kwik Trip.
The company also branched out into corn maze design through a partnership with Feltz's Dairy Store. The Feltz family reached out to Kwik Trip last fall to start the conversation around featuring the convenience store in its 2022 corn maze. For Kwik Trip, it was an easy "yes," and the company's design team created a rough draft of the design, featuring a Nature's Touch milk bottle, a Karuba coffee cup, a fuel pump and the classic Kwik Trip farewell line, "See you next time!" carved into almost 12 acres of corn.
Caribou Coffee built a new coffee shop
We also followed the progress of the Caribou Cabin that Caribou Coffee built next to Perkins Restaurant & Bakery near the intersection of North Division Street and Scholfield Avenue in Stevens Point.
City leaders approved plans in August 2021 for the development, and crews built the site in the spring of this year. The Stevens Point location opened in August and celebrated with donations to the Stevens Point Area YMCA youth sports program.
Construction started on the Food + Farm Exploration Center
Farming for the Future Foundation, a group that was established in 2018, broke ground in April on its new Food + Farm Exploration Center. The center, standing on 24 acres of land south of Lake Pacawa in Plover, between Hoover Avenue and Interstate 39, is scheduled to open next summer.
The center will be a teaching farm, a children’s museum, a science center and community workshop that focuses on celebrating food and farming.
The Inn at SentryWorld opened in March
We got a preview of SentryWorld’s new boutique destination hotel ahead of its March opening.
The Inn at SentryWorld stands across the street from Sentry Insurance’s headquarters and overlooks the SentryWorld golf course’s 18th fairway, holding 64 sleeping rooms, varying from hospitality suites to luxury, bridal and executive level junior suites.
While The Inn at SentryWorld offers many amenities exclusively to its guests, some parts are open to the public. People can rent equipment like bicycles, fishing gear or cross-country skis or purchase snacks, beverages and inn-branded Lululemon athletic wear at The Outfitter. The Library Café is also open to guests and the public.
This article originally appeared on Stevens Point Journal: Stevens Point business stories: Dunham's Sports development, Kwik Trip
