Hidden Treasures on Main coming to Gilman

Visitors to downtown Gilman will soon be getting a new shopping opportunity.

Hidden Treasures on Main will be opening on Wednesday, November 2 in the former Superior Choice Credit Union building on Main St. (Hwy 64) in Gilman. According to store coordinator Lynn Rosemeyer the store will open with products from 10 different vendors featuring a wide range of crafts and retail merchandise, meat and cheeses.

The store is the brainchild of the Gilman Industrial Development Foundation which purchased the building and committed $25,000 to remodeling, fees and permits to get Hidden Treasures open.

Development Foundation member Jane DeStaercke explained that the foundation was able to secure the building at the right price. In addition to the store on the main level, the building also has two apartments on the upstairs level and they rent space in the basement for document storage to a local business. This rental income allows the project to cash flow and offer the opportunity to open the space to local artisans and other vendors who may not have been able to open their own storefront.

For Development Foundation member Darrell Romig, there was value in keeping an empty storefront out of the downtown. “We could fill a building that would have been empty,” Romig said.

He recalled the building being built in 1960 for the State Bank of Gilman and of helping to roll the original safe into the building. Over the years the bank eventually merged with other banks was acquired by Superior Choice Credit Union. Earlier this year Superior Choice moved across the street into a newly remodeled space that better met their needs leaving the building vacant.

With the closure of the local grocery story, members of the Development Foundation saw a huge need for additional retail opportunities in the community to serve not only residents but those traveling through the area.

At the same time, there was a pressing need from local entrepreneurs to have places to market their products and services. Rosemeyer noted that one of the vendors will be Pirate Ship Productions which is a school-district run business that markets a variety of products made through the shop classes utilizing skills learned in the program.

Rosemeyer said student workers will be in Hidden Treasures two to three hours a day and serve as a place where people can place and pick up orders without needing to go into the school building. This will also give the students the benefit of working in a retail setting to develop job skills.

Beyond that, Rosemeyer said the store will also meet the needs of those traveling through the area with a wide range of items including Klisiewicz Farms Beef as well as locally produced honey and maple syrup. Rosemeyer noted there are a number of people who travel through the community to go to recreational properties in places such as the Lake Holcombe area. She said this will provide an easy stop for people to pick up some necessities on their way through as well as provide shopping opportunities for those camping at the nearby Miller Dam (Chequamgeon Waters Flowage) recreation area or visiting the area.

In addition to the retail space, Rosemeyer said they will have classroom space available for the vendors to offer classes on different projects such as making porch pots and other items. The plans were based on research the foundation members have done in visiting other communities and seeing what has worked there.

In addition to the vendor space, the foundation will also be keeping some office space available for rental on short to longer term basis. With the growing number of people who work remotely, this is an opportunity to meet with clients in a business setting or do work. She gave the example of insurance agents serving clients in the area who in the past may have gone to people’s homes. She noted that since the start of the pandemic, people have become less willing to have agents come to their homes, but would meet face to face in an office setting. They noted this works out for the businesses because all the overhead costs of electricity and internet access are included in the rent.

For vendors in the retail space, the foundation will be offering three options — 20% of the proceeds, paying a monthly fee of $50 or working one eight-hour shift per month. “It is pretty equally split,” Rosemeyer said of how the vendors choose to pay for their space.

Hidden Treasures will be open Wednesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Volunteers and contractors are busy working to finish the remodeling of the building’s interior to get ready for their planned Nov. 2 opening. They plan a grand opening on Nov. 19 with special hours that day.

Those interested in vendor or space rental opportunities may contact Hidden Treasures on Main at 280 E Main Street, Gilman, via phone at 715-447-5448 email at hiddentreasuresonmain@gmail.com and online at Facebook.com/Hiddentreasuresonmain.