One of Downtown Racine's biggest needs has been to fill the former Zahn's Department Store with something other than mold or cobwebs. That may be happening.

The handsome, four-story building's owner, the Bank of Elmwood, has accepted a purchase offer. The pending deal is now working its way toward a closing, if all goes well.

Because of its size, central location and longevity of emptiness, the Zahn's building has been a critically missing puzzle piece in Downtown's continuing comeback.

The structure has been a disappointment for Downtown three times:

* When the bankrupt department store closed in 1981, leaving Downtown a carcass that remains 26 years later!

* When the well-intentioned but poorly executed Imaginarium children's museum dream degenerated into a court fight between the Bank of Elmwood and Bukacek Construction.

* About four years ago when plans for the $7 million Monument Square Hotel disintegrated because the Bank of Elmwood would not drop its price for an investor group that included John Helding of Legacy Development.

The bank, which had retaken the building in foreclosure, put the structure back on the market for $2.5 million. Now, three years later, the bank may finally be unloading what is a liability on its books.

But it will be a stupendous building if and when it's made productive, with tremendous potential to bring more life to Downtown.

Bank President Jess Levin says the pending buyer has not shared much information even with him.

"I don't know who the ultimate tenants or investors are," he said.

The buyer/buyers are now in their due-diligence stage.

And Downtown is in the breath-holding stage.

Time to go

An old advertising campaign for Maytag had a terminally bored repairman who bemoaned the fact that he had nothing to do - Maytag appliances were that good, the ads claimed. It was a clever theme.

This month, the owner of Nick's General Repairs, 3720 Durand Ave., is giving up the business for lack of paying work to do. But the driving reason illustrates how consumerism has changed.

Instead of products being too good to need to repairs, in general most are, instead, too cheap to bother.

The shop's owner-operator, Nicholas Paros of Racine, is a Case Corp. retiree who was trained in electronics in Greece.

Twenty-one years ago he opened his repair shop, taking in everything from microwave ovens to TVs. Even running his business for those two decades, Paros, 56, bridged the shift from one consumer age to another.

When he opened his shop, Paros said, he was one of 14 Racine area electronics repair shops. Today, he's the last of the breed to get out.

Electronics have dropped so precipitously in price that they've become throwaways, Paros said. People either don't bother to take them in for repairs, or they take them in - but don't bother to pick them up. A consumer can often buy a new TV for little more than a repair would cost.

… Or, they think they can. "It's very easy to use the plastic to get new ones," even if the person can't genuinely afford to, Paros remarked.

And someone can certainly buy a respectably good microwave for the cost of a family night out to the movies.

Added to the cost factor is the difficulty of repairing today's electronics. "Human fingers cannot take out the parts," Paros said, "because they're all printed on (circuit) boards by special machines."

"Right now, I'm hurting," he said.

So, if you appreciated Nick's service, stop by this week to say good-bye.

And for gosh sake, pick up that TV.

Smells like butter

This past week, four national microwave popcorn companies said they're trying to quit. Using diacetyl, that is.

That's the chemical linked to a rare, life-threatening lung disease - often called "popcorn lung" - among popcorn plant workers.

Bill Buhler, general manager at Butter Buds Food Ingredients provided a bit more context for us. Butter Buds is a Racine company at 2330 Chicory Road which uses proprietary technology to convert butter, cream, cheeses, cocoa butter and beer to powder or paste forms. The concentrates are sold to food processors for use in soups, sauces, dressings and confections.

Buhler gave us a short science lesson. Diacetyl is a molecule that is naturally present in butter and contributes to its flavor profile. It occurs in other foods and drinks such as beer and wine. It's very aromatic and very potent.

"There must be manufacturing processes that contain (diacetyl) so workers are not exposed," Buhler said, when working with very concentrated substances.

Butter Buds doesn't sell its flavorings to the microwave popcorn industry, he said. But what about its other flavorings? Should people be concerned?

"Our products would not have a concentration level that would be a concern," Buhler replied. And they're made in a safe setting.

Bon appetit.

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

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