WISCONSIN RAPIDS – What’s that latest with businesses in the Wisconsin Rapids area?
Streetwise has your answers. These roundups offer an easy way to stay up-to-date with what’s happening on the Streetwise beat. If you know of a new business, a development or a place that’s closing, send me a note at cshuda@gannett.com. If you have questions about something opening, closing or changing in the area, send me those, too, and I’ll do my best to find an answer.
This roundup features a winter farmers market and other retail news.
The Wisconsin Rapids Winter Farmers Market opened Saturday for the season at a new location inside the Moravian Church’s basement at 310 First Ave. S. in Wisconsin Rapids.
The market will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays.
According to a release from the Wisconsin Rapids Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Winter Farmers Market started as a community effort to continue offering locally produced items during the months the Wisconsin Rapids Downtown Farmers Market would be closed. Last season, the Winter Market was held from November 2021 through April 2022 at CVB and offered bakery, seasonal produce, microgreens, canned goods and hand-crafted items. That venue held space for eight or nine vendors each week, but with the new location, the market can feature more than twice as many.
“We are excited the Moravian Church answered the call to continue this service to the community,” said Meredith Kleker, the CVB’s executive director. “The downtown location and their dedicated coordination will assure more opportunities for local vendors and customers.”
Customers and vendors can visit wrmoravian.org and find “Winter Farmers Market” from the dropdown menu for more information or to register online.
Bison Trading Co. closed its store on Geneva Trail in Rome at the end of December, as the business prepares to build a new location to open in early 2024.
In November, the store announced plans to build a new store as a couple purchased the site at 285 Geneva Trail for their business. At the beginning of December, the store announced the plan to build a new and bigger location in the Rome Town Center was because of Bison Trading Co.’s growth.
That December announcement said the new Bison Makers Market will open early in 2024. According to the store’s responses to Facebook comments and questions, Bison Trading Co. will create an online store and be set up at local markets, as well.
For more information, find Bison Trading Co. on Facebook.
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Salt & Peper’s Drive-In is open once again, but temporarily as a retail space.
The restaurant announced Jan. 2 on its Facebook page that plans were in place to bring in new equipment and redo the layout of the space when the owners learned they need to make extensive updates that would take at least a year before they would be able to serve food.
In the meantime, however, Salt & Peper’s Drive-In announced they opened the space as a small retail shop, featuring locally made items.
Salt & Peper’s Drive-In opened in 2016 when Pat and Mandy Peper purchased the restaurant from Kathy Hanneman, who ran it as Kathy’s Drive-In. The drive-in closed in July 2019 and had plans to return with a bigger kitchen.
For more information, find Salt & Peper’s Drive-In on Facebook.
Contact Caitlin at cshuda@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @CaitlinShuda.
Rapids Winter Farmers market starts; Bison Trading update – Wisconsin Rapids Tribune
