By Sue Moore
Business owners seem to be playing musical chairs in downtown Vicksburg, primarily on South Main Street. Mandy Miller’s Cutting Edge hair salon, which was at 126 S. Main, is moving in across the street, next door to Nick DeVito’s barber shop at 115 S. Main, in a space formerly occupied by Michelle Cheesebro. She is moving to a shop in Portage sometime in the future. That’s just for starters.
Taco Bob’s is moving from Washington Street to Miller’s former salon and remodeling it before he has a grand opening. Distant Whistle, a craft brewery, the newest business to the downtown, will open soon in what was a flower shop and the Rosewood Café. Next door, Rudy and Fawn Callen may have found a business owner who will occupy the downstairs of the old Gambles store. It is getting a much needed facelift before opening with a balcony accessible from their upstairs living quarters.
Café 8 is opening in the former Mandy’s Candies shop at 122 S. Main, with new owners and a new approach to coffee, candy, and light food offerings.
Moving north on the street, Jaspare’s is about to open its enlarged pizza restaurant with a beer and wine license at 109 S. Main. The one down side of all this is that Ruthie Dorrance is closing up her art shop at 104 S. Main and moving on to enjoy life as a retiree. That space is waiting for just the right tenant.
Sales agreements for the Community Center at 101 S. Main should be finalized in September, adding an air of mystery to what will go into that building.
Around the corner at 103 W. Prairie, a new computer fix-it shop will be opening in August. It’s called Geek Genius. They repair cell phones, tablets, computers and design web sites. Currently the two owners have businesses in Three Rivers and Texas Corners. They are looking to expand in Vicksburg with Chad Ely, 599-2879, one of the partners, headquartering here.
Steve Huntington, owner of Printing Services on Sprinkle Road, purchased the Long Branch buildings on Spruce Street in Vicksburg from the village. The largest unit is being set up for his company to store large quantities of paper. He expects to find leaseholders for some of the other buildings.
New Businesses in Schoolcraft
In Schoolcraft there is a new embroidery shop at 230 N. Grand Street called Action Gear, where Prima Communications had an office for many years. Their phone is 269-372-1500. Word also has it that a gun shop has opened in the former coffee shop at 321 N. Grand Street. It is called Northern Ballistic. The phone number is 269-718-4924.
Little Eagles Learning Center has opened at 249 N. Grand Street and is enrolling kids for the fall. The phone number is 269-679-3809.
Just north of downtown Schoolcraft, the Dome has changed hands at 12733 U.S. 131. Next Level, a sports training facility and resource center in Portage, will be utilizing both locations. It is headed up by Josh Baird of Vicksburg; Scott Gajos, Vicksburg physical education teacher and coach and Tim Hiller, WMU former quarterback. The phone number is 269-679-2090.