Friday, November 20, 2009

If You Leave Sun Prairie Hungry, Its Your Own Fault!


New places to eat keep opening in Sun Prairie. Be sure to stop in for a bite, and welcome the following new restaurants to Sun Prairie!

Takumi Japanese Restaurant (OPEN)
1219 West Mainst
Sun Prairie, WI 53590
(608) 318-1588

Herreman's (Scheduled to Open in Nov. 2009!)
109 W. Main St.
Sun Prairie, WI 53590
Phone not yet listed.

Little Caesars Pizza (OPEN)
1326 W Main St.
Sun Prairie, WI 53590
608-825-3336

Wave Wind Host Hyundai Heavy Industries on Business Development Tour (Press Release)

Wave Wind, LLC, a leading wind energy service provider, recently hosted Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), a global leader in industrial manufacturing, on a business development tour of Wisconsin. The tour, which was arranged by Wave Wind following its recent agreement to purchase six 1.65 MW wind turbines from HHI, featured a visit with Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle, meetings with other leading Wisconsin businesses, and a survey of potential wind development sites in the state.

Wave Wind's partnership with HHI is evidence that Wisconsin's commitment to becoming a leading center for renewable energy manufacturing, services, and job creation is beginning to yield tangible benefits. Wave Wind viewed HHI's visit as an opportunity to support this commitment.

To that end, HHI's tour of Wisconsin included a meeting hosted by Governor Doyle during which the Governor promoted Wisconsin's physical, geographic, and human resources and reiterated his commitment to creating new, high-paying renewable energy jobs. It also included a tour of Wave Wind's operations and wind turbine storage facilities as well as a tour of potential wind development sites currently being evaluated by Wave Wind.

Wave Wind is located just south of Sun Prairie on Highway TT.

Grants available to Wisconsin manufacturers (WTN News)

The Department of Commerce has authorized Next Generation Manufacturing grants to help Wisconsin manufacturers improve performance, stimulate growth and respond to new challenges as the economy recovers from the recession.

The grants are targeted to small and midsize manufacturers with less than 500 employees. Grants of $5,000 to $6,500 pay up to 50% of project costs for services delivered by WMEP. The remaining project costs are paid by the company. A significant share of the funding already has been pledged for projects. Eligible projects are:Eligible projects include lean transformation initiatives, comprising a comprehensive assessment of a company's operations, identification of key competitive priorities and an action plan to achieve them, and a business-growth plan designed to help manufacturers rapidly generate and test new product ideas called Eureka Winning Ways.



Monday, November 16, 2009

Sun Prairie Sweet Corn Festival Featured in 2010 Cultural Affairs Calendar

Celebration is the theme of the 2010 Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission calendar, led off by Sherry Bahr’s exuberant “Sun Prairie Sweet Corn Festival Carnival Ride,” shown above. The calendar is available at more than a dozen locations throughout the County. Go to the commission’s website for a full listing of where you can pick one up.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Sun Prairie Highlights in Nov. 2009 In Business Magazine


Pick up this month's edition of "In Business Magazine" and you'll get a triple dose of how Sun Prairie is actively impacting our local and regional economy. Features include:

- Executive Profile: Bryan Renk, Executive Director of BioForward is a Sun Prairie native (p. 28)

- Business Dynamic Feature: Sun Prairie based Wave Wind LLC is one of the featured companies talking about pursuing federal stimulus money for renewable energy projects (p. 42)

- Health Care Feature: St. Mary's Sun Prairie Emergency Center is featured as a possible trend setting facility in Wisconsin (p. 54).

Who from Sun Prairie will be next in the Madison area business spotlight?

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Does Sun Prairie Need a Kitchen Incubator?

The following story popped up on WKOW's website yesterday:

Capital City Cookies is close to their one year anniversary in December. Though they do not have a retail space, you can find them at farmer’s markets and cater their cookies to your events. Robin and Jerry Kempfer started the company and make the cookies themselves. I joined Robin at Golden Days Bakery in Sun Prairie where they rent kitchen space.

(Click here for article and link to the video segment on how they make their Sea Salt Caramel Pecan Cookies.)

Now, there have been at least one or two other people in town who have approached the City about getting permission to run food related businesses from out of there houses. It raises the question if there is a growing demand for commercial kitchen space in the Sun Prairie area. Are there possible businesses that would use such a space, and might those businesses eventually spin off into the community as they grow? I am guessing there are. Both Golden Days Bakery and Capital City Cookies are great examples of food businesses. Add to that Carl's Cakes and the bakery at Market Street Diner all the way up to Village Hearth Bakery in the Business Park, and it suddenly seems like we're developing a baking cluster right here in Sun Prairie.

It is also interesting to note that the American Legion building already has a full commercial kitchen in it, as well as plenty of space for storing products, processing foods, retail, dining, classes, and a multitude of other food related uses. A great example of this sort of use is in Algoma, Wisconsin. Click here to learn more about their kitchen incubator.

If you or someone you know would be interested in learning more about how a kitchen incubator might work, and if you would use such a facility if it was available to you, drop Neil Stechschulte an e-mail or call at (608) 825-0894. If we get a significant response, we'll set up a meeting to discuss this idea more.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Sun Prairie Native to Lead Wisconsin's "Voice of the Biotechnology Industry" (Wisconsin State Journal)

Congratulations to Bryan Renk on his new position of Executive Director for BioForward (formerly the Wisconsin Biotechnology and Medical Device Association). He and his family have been producing seeds for four generations, helping farmers grow high-quality corn, soybeans and alfalfa through their company, William F. Renk and Sons in Sun Prairie.

We look forward to working with Bryan to expand Biotech business opportunities right here in Sun Prairie, as well as throughout the Madison region and the State of Wisconsin.