West-side retail growth continues

Haircuts, beds, cell phones coming to strip mall next to Festival Foods

By: Charlie Mathews, Herald Times Reporter

MANITOWOC — Jerry Mallmann says prospective bedding customers are "anybody that needs to sleep at night."

Kent Johansen believes luck has been an important part of the success of his cell phone business, while Becky Mian instructs her staff to quickly greet patrons coming in for haircuts.

Despite a struggling economy, they are the three latest entrepreneurs who are opening retail operations in Manitowoc — specifically, in a 6,700-square-foot strip mall at 3955 Dewey St., adjoining Festival Foods.

"It blows me away the level of interest in that retail pocket," said Mike Maedke, leasing agent for Commercial Horizons, said of the city's west side.

His company is the primary developer of Harbor Town, which includes a couple dozen stores including Lowe's and Kohl's, as well as Holy Family Memorial's Harbor Town Campus.

Mallmann, Mian and Johansen all mentioned their proximity to Wal-Mart, Harbor Town and high vehicular traffic counts as part of the appeal to establish new businesses.

Hamann Construction is the general contractor, with completion set for late summer.

The Bedding Express will be a division of Mallmann's Chilton Furniture and feature Sealy products.

"We have a strong following in the Manitowoc area and we know there's room for growth in that area for us," Mallmann said. "That area of Manitowoc and Harbor Town is continuing to explode so we believe this is a prime opportunity for us."

Decade of growth

Johansen's Pro Cellular Wireless Verizon premium retail store will be his 67th outlet in five states, including his home state of Minnesota, as well as Iowa, South Dakota and Louisiana.

Johansen concentrates on building stores in rural areas where he said Verizon's strong signal is an advantage in attracting customers.

"There's blind luck and dumb luck and then there's 'Get up every morning at 5:30 a.m., work until dark and sweat the details' kind of luck," Johansen declares on his company's website.

Rival AT&T's network features a partnership with Apple's popular iPhone, but Johansen is unfazed.

"We have some wonderful iPhone killers coming out like the Motorola Droid X on July 15," Johansen said. "That will be a huge impact on our back-to-school business in Manitowoc."

Fantastic Sams can be found in 1,300 locations across the country, including West Bend, where Mian and her physician husband opened their first full-service hair care franchise salon.

"We will be looking for a manager and nine or 10 stylists," Mian said of their second Fantastic Sams, set to open with seven stations.

Employees are expected to greet customers within their first three steps into the salon. If a stylist isn't immediately available, clients will sit in a "nice lounge waiting area with TV."

Haircuts are $15.95 for men and women and $11.95 for children. Stylists also will do hair coloring, extensions, permanents, straightening and updos.

"We love Manitowoc and are excited about the location," Mian said.

City Planner David Less said the new strip mall would not have been developed without the adjoining Festival Foods, which was built after Harbor Town was established.

"There is a synergism that has been built off the investments related to Harbor Town," David Less, noting its $60 million worth of development in the past six years.

"Harbor Town is far ahead of where we had projected it to be," Less said.

Maedke said additional land at Harbor Town is waiting for a stronger economy and tenants looking to establish a foothold in the Lakeshore area.

There are outlots in front of the section that includes Kohl's, Lowe's and MCSports, as well as land behind those stores on Dewey Street.

Aurora therapy services

Another west side development is the construction of a 5,000-square-foot physical and occupational therapy facility at 3821 Calumet St., just east of the new, three-tenant strip mall.

"Aurora's rehabilitation location in Manitowoc will offer a more convenient option for residents in the southern parts of the county," said Cathie Kocourek, chief administrative officer of Aurora Medical Center-Manitowoc County.

"We are growing out of our current location," said Jeb Husmann, Aurora Health Care's rehabilitation services manager.

"We've started adding more therapists to the team," he said. "When we take on more patients, we need more space for them."

Schwarz Management of Manitowoc is serving as construction project manager for the facility on land owned by Manitowoc businessmen Dan Wergin and Terry Fox.

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