Gallery also a green-ery
The Flying Pig in Algoma offers art, gardens and cafe in Earth-friendly building
By Donna Marie Pocius
Green building has led to a growing business called The Flying Pig - an Algoma gallery, greenspace and café.
Arts lovers, café loungers and gardeners browse contemporary folk art, outsider-styled work and pieces made from recycled and repurposed materials.  The Earth-friendly building is a work of art to itself. The tall two-level gallery has passive solar heating and geothermal heating and cooling. The gallery also presents a corrugated aluminum exterior and an interior accented by reclaimed barn beams, exposed duct work and wood ceilings. The business was constructed in 2003, when eco-friendly materials were not as mainstream as they are today. The owners are, nonetheless, pleased with their investment and savings on operational costs, such as heating, over the years. "There has definitely been a savings. And I would say our payback is here," said Robyn Mulhaney, co-owner. "But I'm jealous of businesses putting something like (a green business) together now. The cost of recycled materials is so down. A lot has happened in green building over five years," she said, adding that prices of eco-friendly insulation and composite decking materials, especially, have significantly dropped. And a lot has happened at The Flying Pig in five years, too. Mulhaney and Susan Connor, co-owner, have used destination marketing tactics, strong relationships with artists and customers and a unique positioning to establish their business in what was an open field bordering a wetland on Hwy. 42.  More

'Around cars forever'
Sherwood 'car guy' having a blast  working on vehicles from the past
By Amanda Lauer
"To work on an old car, you need an old mechanic." So says Jim Wagner, owner of Classic Mechanical in Sherwood.
At 53, Wagner isn't exactly ready to join AARP, but he has decades of experience working with antique and classic vehicles.  "I've been around cars forever," said Wagner, who has a degree in auto technology from Fox Valley Technical College. "I started out in the auto repair industry and then went to Mercury Marine. I worked in research and development there for 15 years. My time with Mercury was a tremendous learning experience. They offered an early-out package, and I took off on my own. I had a couple of other small businesses before this but got back to my roots when this opportunity came up." Classic Mechanical was originally located in a shop next to Wagner's home in Stockbridge but was relocated in 2006.  "I was building a Mustang for Rollie Stephenson, who owned Town & Country Electric," Wagner said.  "At the same time, the old Les Stumpf Ford building in Sherwood became available. I started talking to Rollie about what a cool place this would be to do a car business. He knew David Treichel, owner of David C. Treichel Auto Refinishing, and he said 'I know just the guy to come in with us.' So, Rollie was the glue, he put this all together. He also helped us out financially."  Wagner's business is centered on mechanical restoration and repair. Treichel does body work and painting. The businesses are separate but work together in the building which is now known as Zero to 60 Garage.  More

Dog's death led couple to start animal-treat business
Crivitiz company uses meats from organic farms; no fillers or preservatives
By Amanda Lauer
Roger Polifka and his wife, Kathy, of Crivitz lost their dog Jordan in 2003 due to a tainted batch of dog food. To prevent other families from going through that ordeal, the Polifka's opened Jordan's Pet Bakery, which is state-certified, to create healthy and safe treats for dogs, cats and horses.  "Jordan was an American Party Cocker Spaniel that had been grossly abused that we picked up from the vet," Polifka said. "He was severely beaten and dragged with a car. He had a rough life beforehand, and he was only expected to live probably 30 days. He was with us for 8½ years only to lose him to bad dog food. According to the manufacturer, which was a name brand company, they didn't sterilize the food enough and let it go. It slowly shut his organs down. It took about six months for him to die." With 30 years of experience in the baking field, including more than 16 years in quality control at Rich's Bakery in Appleton, Kathy started making treats for their other animals after their experience with Jordan. Friends, relatives and neighbors started requesting items as well. The business ballooned from there.  The company is certified to make dog food but they decided to focus on making treats. Polifka noted the ingredients in their dog treats that make them superior to most found on the market.  "The meats that we get primarily are black angus, buffalo and venison," he said. "We buy them from organic farms. Our flour comes from a wholesaler that supplies the baker shops with their flour. We use no fillers, we use no preservatives. We have a four to six month shelf life without using any of those ingredients."    More

Growth Strategies
This family works at having fun and games
By Amanda Lauer
They say the family that plays together, stays together. That certainly seems true for the Jacobson family. They have been in the game business for more than 40 years and are still going strong.  "My dad Gordon started back in 1964 with a game room in Kaukauna," said Kurt Jacobson, president of Amusement Devices Inc., Menasha. "We turned that into a tavern later on called Little Joe's. He owned it, and my brother Joe leased it from him. Then, after a number of years, my younger brother Eric ran it, and it was called Phoenix." In addition to owning the game room/bar, the elder Jacobson had a business where he provided pinball machines, juke boxes and pool tables to local taverns and bowling centers.
"He only had a few locations and he also ran a pool hall on the north side of Kaukauna called The Side Pocket. He ran that probably until the late '60s," Jacobson said.  Gordon Jacobson also owned a restaurant on the south side of Kaukauna called The Iron Horse. The restaurant had a game room attached to it and Kurt ran that once he graduated from Kaukauna High School in 1974.  "In the late '70s, we got out of the restaurant business. We used that building for our warehouse and our shop area for quite a while for the game business." At that time, the game business route was expanding, Jacobson said. "We started pushing more into the Seymour area, north of the Fox Cities. We started with mainly dart machines because that was something new that we could break in with. Otherwise, it was pinball machines, foosball, pool tables and juke boxes."   More

Hal Becker column
When training, be sure to teach the 'why's behind the system
I had a wonderful sales experience recently - at a retail store of all places. It was truly unique, and it was simply due to good training, which is somewhat unheard of in the world of retail (I know, there are exceptions, but I'm generalizing here, so don't write me and tell me about it). My wife and I were shopping, and she wanted to go into this store that had clothing for my daughter to wear. It was not high on my list of stores to browse through.  I got lucky that day because right next door was a retail establishment that had things all guys want ... things with remote controls and lots of buttons.
I said "Honey, I will be right next door, and I will be back in a few minutes. If I'm not, come in and get me when you are through looking at overpriced teenager clothing that already comes ripped or torn." So, I walk into the Bose store for only one purpose, and that is to kill anywhere from 15 minutes to six hours depending on my wife's luck at shopping. As I walked into the store of "remotes, knobs and buttons," I was greeted by a young woman of 19 or so, and she said to me, "Welcome to the Bose store, how are you?"   More

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