A $170,000 loan from the Milwaukee Economic Development Commission will help a grocery store maintain operations at a Fond du Lac Avenue site in the city.
Penasa Foods, Inc., received the Target Area Loan to purchase the building and land at 6627 W. Fond du Lac Ave., which now is host to a Sentry food store.
Chris Penasa, the owner of Penasa Foods who decided to purchase the real estate, has made several changes to the store since purchasing it from his father. He wants to remodel the store to expand the dairy, meat and produce departments to help the store meet growing demands from consumers for prepared foods.
The company, which currently employs 22 people, expects to create one full-time position.
M&I Marshall & Ilsley also is participating in the $425,000 project.
The MEDC’s loan committee also approved the following projects:
Animal Emergency Center, Inc., an emergency and critical-care medical facility for small animals, received a $300,000 MEDC Target Area Loan to buy a facility at 5401 N. Lovers Lane Rd.
The company currently employs 24 full-time workers and expects to hire three more as part of the $1 million expansion project.
The firm was founded in 1977 as an emergency medical clinic. In 1984, it became one of the nation’s first 24-hour animal hospitals, devoted exclusively to emergency and critical care.
The hospital, which also serves as a teaching center, examines between 6,000 and 7,000 animals each year.
Park Bank is also participating financially in the project.
Theiss Business Interiors, LTD, received a $210,000 Target Area Loan to construct a 7,500-square-foot building that would house the company’s interior design business and provide space for tenants.
Theiss Business Interiors specializes in commercial building space for offices, colleges, hospitals, clinics, banks or any type of business. The company’s services include layout, reflected ceiling and lighting plans, elevations, cabinetry and counter designs, and finish.
Greg Thiess, owner of the firm, would like to purchase a parcel at 1323 E. Brady St.
The company currently employs five full-time workers and expects to add one. Park Bank is participating financially in the $525,000 project.
Channel One, Inc., received a $161,968 Second Mortgage Loan to purchase commercial condominium space at 207 N. Milwaukee St. for continued use by the company.
Channel One, a business video and interactive media provider, expanded into a multi-million dollar company, now employing 22 people full time. It anticipates hiring seven more full-time workers to handle business growth.
Services provided by Channel One include graphics, animation video, narration, music and sound effects. The company also offers video and interactive production that includes concept development, digital editing and script writing. Clients include Miller Brewing, Sargento Foods, Monsanto, Gardetto’s, Tombstone Pizza and the NFL Players Association.
Associated Bank is financially participating in the $647,870 project.
Comfort Zone Entertainment Center received a $61,600 Target Area Loan to convert the Capital Sports Bowl at 5526 W. Fond du Lac Ave. into a banquet facility.
Real estate owners Jane Keenan-Turner and Lonnie Turner Jr. will lease the bar and banquet area to Melvin Turner, who will operate the Comfort Zone. In addition to a main banquet hall that will accommodate 180 people, a second area will be available for smaller parties of 75 people.
The new owners intend to renovate and update the kitchen for a short-order grill facility, to serve the bar area and caterers. Park Bank is financially participating in the $154,000 project.
Woody’s Sausage received a $19,800 Target Area Loan to purchase a building at 3528 W. Fond du Lac Ave. for use as a retail facility for Viceroy Wondering Foods, Inc., and as a manufacturing facility for Woody’s Sausages.
The MEDC loan will also assist with relocation and set-up costs.
Woody’s currently operates out of a former photography studio at 4328 W. Fond du Lac Ave.
The new 2,500-square-foot location will allow the company to expand its existing company base, increase its market share and reduce operating costs.
Alvin Holloman, president of Woody’s, has contracted with Klements Sausage to produce the company’s products since 1993.
Liberty Bank is financially participating in the $49,500 project.
National Tissue Co. received a $300,000 Target Area Loan for the purchase of two state-of-the-art machines that will enable the company to expand its product line from three to six products and increase efficiency by more than 50%.
The company is moving from Waukesha to 737 W. Cleveland Ave. in Milwaukee due to space constrictions at its former site and the need to be closer to a larger labor pool.
National Tissue is a manufacturer of toilet paper and paper towels for the commercial market. It produces three product lines which include jumbo-roll toilet tissue, hard-wound towels, and center-pull towels for public restrooms and for the institutional market nationwide. The company currently employs 16 full-time workers and expects to add 12 full-time positions.
M&I Marshall & Ilsley Bank is financially participating in the $752,000 project.
SBA loans
The following loan guarantees have been approved in March by the U.S. Small Business Administration in Wisconsin:
Associates Soil Testing, N9009 State Road 67, East Troy 53120, $18,500, First Citizens Bank of Whitewater;
Broadlands Golf Club, Inc., Highway 59, North Prairie 53153, $1 million, Wisconsin Development Finance Corp.;
Extreme Towing, Inc., 5414G W. Presidio Ln., Milwaukee 53223, $50,000, Norwest Bank Wisconsin;
Fibeco Corp., 425 Spruce St., Sheboygan Falls 53085, $575,000, Firstar Bank Wisconsin;
Hi Way Motors, 100 Twilight St., Lacrescent, Minn., 55947, $120,000, Bank of Holmen;
Iamusa, Inc., 9152 W. Dixon St., Milwaukee 53214, $120,000, Waukesha State Bank;
Interlude, 3712 W. Mt. Vernon Ave., Milwaukee 53204, $35,000, TCF National Bank Wisconsin;
Joseph T. Hebert Cleaning Service, 3230 N. 36th St., Milwaukee 53216, $8,100, Park Bank;
JW Towing & Auto Service, 2940 W. Fond du Lac Ave., Milwaukee 53210, $80,000, Firstar Bank Milwaukee;
Kut-Rite Corp., 4050 N. 34th St., Milwaukee 53216, $75,000, University National Bank;
Maid-4-U, Inc., 65 W. Pioneer Rd., Fond du Lac 54935, $95,000, Firstar Bank Wisconsin;
Making The Grade, Inc., 3477 N. 89th St., Milwaukee 53222, $52,000, Norwest Bank Wisconsin;
Malkins Carpets, Inc., N85 W16093 Appleton Ave., Menomonee Falls 53051, $550,000, Investors Bank;
Mike Burkart Ford Mercury, Inc., 102 N. Milwaukee St., Plymouth 53073, $1 million, Wisconsin Business Development Corp.,;
Performance Mold Products, Inc., N116 W18515 Morse Dr., Germantown 53022, $334,000, Wisconsin Business Development Corp.;
Rapwood Enterprises, Inc. W4385 Belgium Kohler Rd., Fredonia 53021, $515,300, Community Bank of Sheboygan;
R&B Video & Paging, 1532 E. Sumner St., Hartford 53027, $50,000, First National Bank of Hartford;
Scenic View Country Club, 4415 Club Dr., Slinger 53086, $160,000 and $250,000, Firstar Bank Wisconsin;
Señor Luna, LLC, 1901 S. Calhoun Rd., Waukesha 53188, $250,000, AT&T Small Business Lending Corp.;
Wells Consulting, Inc., 1260 Pioneer Trail, Waukesha 53186, $100,000, Waukesha State Bank.
Century firms
As part of Wisconsin’s sesquicentennial celebration, Gov. Tommy Thompson is seeking to identify Wisconsin’s businesses that are 150 years old or older; they will be honored at a ceremony this month, receiving a plaque and a governor’s letter of recognition.
A number of companies have been identified;others not on the list can contact Tony Hozeny at the state Department of Commerce in Madison, 608-267-9661.
The following firms are on the list, including the year they were founded:
Journal Communications, Milwaukee, 1837;
Dodge County Title & Abstract, Juneau, 1839;
State Medical Society of Wisconsin, Madison, 1840;
Case Corp., Racine, 1842;
Foley & Lardner, Milwaukee, 1842;
Joseph T. Ryerson & Son, Milwaukee, 1842;
Bliss Communications (Gazette Publishing),
Janesville, 1845;
Dane County Title, Madison, 1846;
Chicago Title Insurance, Waukesha, 1847;
H.H. West, Milwaukee, 1847;
Marshall & Ilsley Bank, Milwaukee, 1847;
Svedala Industries, Waukesha, 1847;
Wisconsin Color Press, Milwaukee, 1847;
Bentley & Son, Brown Deer, 1848;
Bruno Boiler & Engine Works, Edgerton, 1848;
Greater Beloit Publishing Co., Beloit, 1848;
Joseph Huber Brewing, Monroe, 1848;
The Masterson Co., Milwaukee, 1848;
Meissner, Tierney, Fisher & Nichols,
Milwaukee, 1848;
Michael, Best & Friedrich, Milwaukee, 1848;
Pfister & Vogel Tanning, Milwaukee, 1848;
Richardson Brothers, Sheboygan Falls, 1848;
St. Mary’s Hospital, Milwaukee, 1848;
Suettinger Sheet Metal, Two Rivers, 1848;
United States Leather Holdings, Milwaukee, 1848.
