We used to spend most of our time writing about what was happening in business. Now we spend most of it writing about what isn't.

We'll give you some of each today.

But first, today's column begins with a musical introduction: my update of an old country song that Tammy Wynette recorded.

"D-I-V-O-R-C-E" was a tear-jerker about a couple who was splitting up. To keep their young boy from realizing the devastation happening to his family, they spelled out key words they didn't want him to hear.

With apologies to composers Bobby Braddock and Curly Putman, I fiddled with the words a bit, as you'll see below. If you know the song, hum or sing the tune in your head as you read on … and have some tissues handy.

Our little boy is four years old

And quite a little man

So we spell out the words

We don't want him to understand

Like T-O-Y or maybe

S-U-R-P-R-I-S-E

But the words we're hiding from him now

Tear the heart right out of me.

(Chorus. Pedal steel guitar swells.)

Our E-C-O-N-O-M-Y

Is quite rotten today

Lots of little J-O-Bs

Have been going away

I need new tires and they will be

Pure H-E double-L to buy

Oh, I wish we could restart

This E-C-O-N-O-M-Y.

Watch him smile, he thinks it's Christmas

Or his fifth birthday

And he thinks L-A-Y-O-F-F

Spells "fun" or "play"

I spell out all the hurtin' words

And turn my head when I speak

'Cause I couldn't spell away the hurt

When I missed a paycheck last week.

Our E-C-O-N-O-M-Y

Is just putrid today

Shoppers aren't shopping

Wall Street took a whomping

Don't ask 'bout my 4-0-1(k)

A local company keeps bragging

That it's leaner and nimble and spry

Oh, I wish we could restart

This E-C-O-N-O-M-Y

(Repeat chorus)

Our E-C-O-N-O-M-Y

Is in the toilet today

My B-A-N-K won't lend me money,

They tell me, "Go away!"

I found an old shoe,

And it will be pure H-E double-L to fry

Oh, I wish we could restart

This E-C-O-N-O-M-Y.

Cycle project stranded

Late last July, we printed a story which began, "Racine Motor Sports is a step away from being able to move out of Racine and build a new Honda motorcycle dealership in Yorkville."

Well, Scott Darville, the business owner, is still a step away - but now that step is a wide chasm.

You can guess what stopped him. "It's been totally stalled," he said last week, by the often-mentioned "credit crunch."

Darville, whose current business is at 2005 Lathrop Ave. in Racine, had big expansion plans - still does, in fact. Just not in the near future anymore.

Last summer he was expecting to buy seven acres near the intersection of highways 20 and 45 in Yorkville, west of the Country Rose Cafe. Darville was going to build a new $2 million Honda dealership with sales and repair of motorcycles, recreational vehicles and power equipment.

It was a location designed to easily draw shoppers from a wide area. All the permits were in place, and Darville had a $4.5 million letter of intent, for the inventory, from a bank he declined to name.

But when the economy crashed, the bank suspended the financing, making the letter of intent worthless. "They have been suspending projects left and right," Darville said.

"Honda can finance people," he added, "but now you need perfect credit. And people are not really buying what it is I'm selling."

Darville is asking the county to extend his conditional-use permit for a year, in case the economy rebounds.

But until and unless that happens, said Darville, (who often talks in motor-vehicle metaphors), "Everything is kind of in neutral."

Upscale and nonsmoking

The four-story building at 316 Main St. is on a path from porn shop to "ultra-lounge." Doug Nicholson, owner of Ivanhoe Pub & Eatery, 231 Main St., bought the building last year after the former Racine News X-rated bookstore closed.

Nicholson has unveiled his plans for Envi, a nonsmoking ultra-lounge. He supplied this definition of ultra-lounge: a nightclub that offers patrons a place to dine, dance and drink with seat groupings designed for people to socialize.

These clubs sometimes create privacy around the seating areas with room dividers, sheets or curtains. The music is often more subdued white-room or ambient house-type music. These clubs offer a range of cocktails and drinks and food such as tapas or finger food.

Nicholson said he chose the concept after holding focus groups with his target demographic, which is men and women ages

25-55 who earn $50,000 or more annually.

He married the nonsmoking ultra-lounge idea with a green concept. That includes reuse of materials on site, cork and/or bamboo flooring and a waterless urinal, and he's pursuing Wisconsin Travel Green certification.

Nicholson has a great building in which to flesh out the ultra-lounge concept. Much of the second floor has been removed to create a mezzanine and an immense sense of interior vertical space.

The club, which he hopes to open later this year, will be open Wednesday-Saturday nights.

Nicholson said he has some concerns about the economy, which is why the Ivanhoe recently came out with a new menu and reduced prices. But he thinks there's still a customer base that Envi will attract.

If his ultra-lounge works here, Nicholson said he'd like to replicate the model with future clubs in other cities.

Miscellany

Clara Watson and her son, Walter Blair, are working to open a small north-side restaurant, Mama Clara's BBQ Kitchen, at 3751 Douglas Ave. The nonsmoking diner will seat 28-30 and should open within two weeks, Watson said.

Although Watson, 67, of Racine, said she has much restaurant experience, this will be her first as an owner. Watch this paper for more on this topic soon.

Molly MaGruder, Contemporary Clothing Boutique, 330 Main St., recently added a consignment department. Owners Dorothy Ward and Laurie Pettit said they responded to customers who wanted a "high-end, stylish consignment store" in Racine.

For consignment guidelines, call (262) 898-9080 or e-mail mollymagruder@sbcglobal.net

Center for Advanced Technology and Innovation Executive Director Matt Wagner recently gave a presentation in Tokyo about using corporate patents for economic development.

Wagner - a former director of Downtown Racine Corp. - said he was impressed by how well organized and thorough were the Japanese who hosted the conference. Both his words and his name were translated into Japanese.

Here's how his name looked:

Business reporter Michael Burke can be reached at (262) 631-1716 or by e-mail at mburke@journaltimes.com

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