An East Ellsworth business is one of three downtown businesses from around the state named as a finalist in the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation’s (WEDC’s) annual Main Street Makeover Contest. One grand prize winner will receive funding and assistance to upgrade their business.

Based on the popular reality show concept, established businesses located in one of the state’s 35 Wisconsin Main Street and 83 Connect Communities had the opportunity to nominate themselves for a “makeover” that will take place in the spring of 2024. The winning businesses will receive personalized technical assistance and up to $10,000 to implement recommended changes, which could include interior and exterior design improvements or personalized assistance to boost the business’s image and operations.

Finalists were selected based on their business track record, the vision for their business, and the potential for the makeover to have a positive impact on their downtown district.

The three finalists are:

• YB Urban?, Ellsworth
• Link’s Martial Arts, Mayville
• Café 529, Wausau

The winner will be announced in early November. The winning businesses will spend several months working with Main Street staff and consultants from RetailWorks, Inc. a Milwaukee-based interior design firm, on a renovation plan, followed by a 48-hour transformation event in the spring.

The new and improved business spaces will be formally unveiled during a public celebration featuring state and local officials. All eligible businesses that submitted applications for the competition will receive technical assistance from the Main Street team to help achieve their goals and enhance their business.

According to Ellsworth Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Team member Kim Beebe, YB Urban?'s remarkable journey embodies the spirit of entrepreneurship and collaboration that makes Ellsworth special.

“Their location at 243 N. Broadway St. in East Ellsworth came about as a result of Pop Up Ellsworth in the fall of 2019,” Beebe said. “The goal of the Ellsworth Area Chamber of Commerce campaign was to connect entrepreneurs with property owners to help fill Ellsworth's empty storefronts.”

At that time, Angie Whelan, owner of YB Urban?, was running her business out of her home on a small farm in rural Ellsworth, doing most of her sales online, at vendor shows, and through small boutique resellers. Whelan saw Pop Up Ellsworth as an opportunity to test creating and selling her personal care products out of a brick and mortar location and took a chance on a small building on Broadway Street. Her experience during the Pop Up campaign was a successful one and she approached the building owners about buying the building and making it YB Urban?'s permanent home.

The building has a long history, Beebe said. It was originally built by Citizen's State Bank in 1910. The bank was purchased by Bank of Ellsworth in 1930 and remained a bank until 1969 when it was sold and became the Pierce County Veterinary Clinic. Later the building housed a mortgage company and a resale boutique. Prior to Pop Up Ellsworth, the building was vacant for six years.

"We are so excited to see YB Urban? named as a finalist in the Main Street Makeover Contest,” Beebe said. “We have a vision for the East End business corridor and that is to see the area become a bustling and walkable shopping, art, and entertainment district. We know Angie shares this dream. It's the commitment and investment by business owners like Angie, that will help make East Ellsworth's revitalization a reality. For YB Urban? to win this makeover would be a great boost to a business owner who has taken a chance and invested in our community."

Whelan’s wheels are already turning. She has plans for the prize money, should she receive it.

“More than anything I would love to see the false walls and drop ceiling come out of the main floor area,” Whelan said. “The three-room structure likely served the building well as a vet clinic and a mortgage office, but I've struggled with it over that last four years. We'd like to see it returned to its original open floor plan that would be much better suited to our retail store. We have sneak peeked what's above the ceiling tiles when we had our inspection and it's pretty awesome!”

She would also like to install new flooring; the current painted linoleum floors are hard to keep looking clean.

“We are also very curious as to what might be hiding behind our dark wood facade and the shaker shingles,” Whelan said. “We're still working with our temporary signage from the Pop-Up Ellsworth program days and I have been told a couple of times lately that we need better, bigger signage to be easier to find, so that would also be fantastic to see.”

Whelan’s vision for YB Urban? is to continue to serve the local community by providing high-quality personal care products. In addition to what they offer now, they would like to expand their offerings to include more sustainability products as alternatives to commonly found disposable, single-use plastic products. 

“To compliment the Refill Center opened in 2020, we added a number of bamboo products this past summer, but with a better floor plan and additional space, we could really expand these offerings to include more household goods and clothing,” Whelan said. “We want to expand on our status as the place to go for essential oil and wellness education by having classes, DIY experiences, and gatherings to bring people together to learn, celebrate, and heal.”

Whelan also thinks the contest is a way to bring the community together.  

“There seems to be some controversy about the best way to grow this community, but coming together to support our local businesses is by far the easiest, most organic, and most sustainable way to make this community vibrant for everyone,” she said. “Our commitment to East End is solid, we believe that with the Creamery as our anchor, we can have a beautiful tourism district filled with art, culture, food, and entertainment that visitors can enjoy (and spend money!) and locals can be really proud of. Showing other start-ups the potential of this area to be a viable place to run a business is the first step to revitalization. We are happy to be the business that takes a chance to revive Broadway Street so everyone can enjoy it. Making our storefront more visible and creating an interior with more versatility will be a welcome sight on our block.”

Whelan said the application process was easy, as long as business owners keep good records.

“I loved the many opportunities to share little tidbits about the building and business throughout the process,” she said. “I think the best way for any business to stay informed of this and other opportunities is to get involved with our local Chamber of Commerce, as they have their thumb on all the good things the WEDC is doing.  It was through members of our business community that kept me informed that I was able to jump on this opportunity at this time.” 

Now in its eighth year, the Main Street Makeover Contest is an initiative of the Wisconsin Main Street Program, a comprehensive revitalization program overseen by WEDC and designed to promote the historic and economic redevelopment of traditional business districts in Wisconsin. The contest is designed to raise awareness of the Wisconsin Main Street Program and Connect Communities Program, which are the two downtown revitalization initiatives overseen by WEDC. The programs provide support and training for communities and organizations dedicated to downtown revitalization efforts.