Caribou Coffee

Our local Caribou Coffee shop is going away sometime this spring.  Many of us are sad because, as a national chain based out of the Minneapolis area, it gave the international giant, Starbuck's, a run for the money and offered some much needed variety. However, Caribou will remain in most of their other strong markets, and word on the street is that the shop will be replaced by Peet's Coffee, another national/west coast chain.  It would be nice if Pewaukee could gain one of the the popular Milwaukee-based shops, such as Anodyne or Collectivo.  Time will tell.

It's interesting to note that Collectivo used to be called Alterra, but sold the name and brand to the Mars Corp. a few years back, with the promise that the Milwaukee market base would not be infringed upon. Again, time will tell.

Times, they are a changing...

Back in 2009 I posted a photo of Farber's, the old-fashioned barber shop over by Pewaukee Lake. Just recently it closed and it looks like a new independent insurance agency has taken over.  I wish them the best of luck, since it's a tough climate for small businesses these days.

Dog-Gone

This old house in the Village of Pewaukee is currently used as a dog grooming facility.  Rumor has it that this - and several of the neighboring homes - will soon be razed to make way for a Kwik-Trip.

Really Neat Stuff

Kroner's True Value Hardware on Pearl Street is one of the few original businesses remaining in downtown La Crosse. It has that old-fashioned feel with creaking wooden floors and tall ceilings. The original tile sign above the door also has great Art Deco typography typical of the 1930s. It carries just about every type of hardware, paint, or tool you might need, along with lots of great cookware for the gourmet chef.

Since La Crosse is a cradle of Norwegian heritage, they also carry some wonderful Scandinavian cooking supplies. (See window display below.) Lefse is a very popular soft Norwegian flat bread made from potatoes -quite similar to a flour tortilla- and you must have very specific items to make it. Kroner's is the local go-to place to buy the required potato ricer, lefse iron, rolling mat, and flat "turning stick" needed to create this tasty staple found on dinner tables from Thanksgiving through Easter. We are purists and just roll it up with butter and use it in place of dinner rolls, but some people enjoy rolling it up with cinnamon-sugar for breakfast or dessert.

It's April, yet note the poor little gold Christmas ornament forgotten at the bottom of the display in this photo? (Hey! I think I actually want that stainless colander!)