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The Bottom Line: Wanda's gets new life as Sixth Street expands
By Mick Burke
Downtown Sixth Street has had its ups and downs, but it is blooming as a food and entertainment strip.
Particularly hot right now is the street's west end, the 400-600 blocks.
The latest development is the rescue of Henry & Wanda's, 501 Sixth St. - not just as a martini bar, but as the bar and restaurant Racine knows.
After a couple of chaotic months, the dust is settled and Henry & Wanda's will continue under new ownership. Four new owners purchased the business - name, bar, menu and all. They're also keeping virtually the entire staff.
Four new partners are taking over Henry & Wanda's: Mike McDermott, Mike Staeck, Eric Peterson and Mike Walton.
All are old friends and Racine area natives. Besides that, Staeck and Peterson are the owners of Landmark Title of Racine, 719 Washington Ave. Walton is an owner at CRB Insurance.
He explained that, when rocky times set in between the original owners and Jim Spodick, the building owner, Staeck did not want to see Downtown dealt a blow, especially just down the street from his business. Staeck is negotiating to buy the building from Spodick.
Also, "We really wanted to get into this business," McDermott said. "I have always wanted to do this, even though I've had other businesses."
His children are grown and now encouraging him to pursue that interest. He added, "I understand it's going to be a change of lifestyle."
With the change of hands, Henry & Wanda's will close for six days, then reopen next Wednesday. The new owners are also thinking of opening a cigar bar upstairs in the building, McDermott added.
"Henry & Wanda's created a special atmosphere on Sixth Street," he said. "... We want to build on that."
Adding to that part of Sixth Street next week will be two new restaurants. Asiana Bowl, 423 Sixth, is scheduled to open with its Korean food on Thursday.
And Timothy York's Bistro intends to open at 600 Sixth St. two days later.
Tattoos go mainstream If we had any doubt that tattoos and body piercing were going mainstream, here's another sign: Regency Mall is getting its first tattoo/piercing shop.
Rhonda "Ronnie" and Nicholas Nicholson opened Ronnie's Town on a cart at the mall in the spring, selling body jewelry.
That success led to a kiosk. Now they're getting ready to move to a full store on Jan. 15, to be called Body Xpressions. Services will range from basic ear piercing to elaborate tattoos.
Trolls on the move In August 2004, One Ugly Troll Cards and Games opened as a tiny gaming store at 1137 Hayes Ave.
Thirteen months later, original owner Steve Essiembre took on Robert Bretthauer of Racine as a partner. They became Two Ugly Trolls and moved to 1208 Grove Ave. But they again were running out of room, the building was showing wear and tear, and so they moved again.
Most recently - again, 13 months after the previous move - Two Ugly Trolls moved to 1230 Lathrop Ave. That's the small strip center just south of Washington Avenue. Essiembre said he expects that to be their last stop.
Since their start, they've increased their capacity from a maximum of five tables for gaming tournaments to 13. As for customers, "At first it was just a small group," Essiembre said. "We've gone from a handful to about 50 regular customers.
"It's like a bar, a place to hang out, " he added. He said that was one of the main reasons he opened in the first place: so teenagers, especially boys, could have a safe place to kill time.
Business reporter Michael Burke can be reached at (262)631-1716 or by e-mail at:
mburke@journaltimes.com
To announce a new business, complete the form at: http://journaltimes.com/newbusiness
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