Volume One’s “Shop Talk” focuses on some of the Chippewa Valley’s most engaging local businesses – those that have made a name for themselves serving our region for years, and even decades. These venues are owned and operated by locals, to serve locals, and these are their stories.

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Treasure Trove of Hope

More than 150,000 items move through the Hope Gospel Bargain Center (2511 Moholt Drive, Eau Claire) every month. That’s a lot of stuff, even for what they ...

One of a Kind Designs

Robert Giede wears two rings when he isn’t at his work bench. On his right hand ring finger is a red and orange fire agate mounted adjacent to a white diamond on a ...

The Perfect Environment

Working in the floral business isn’t all sweet smells and soft-petaled daisies. It’s a mad dash from holiday to holiday, with poinsettias and evergreens for Christmas, roses for ...

Drinking It In

Drop by drop, bottle by bottle, barrel by barrel, Matthew Rick has built Infinity Beverages Winery & Distillery, a thriving wine and spirits business, in Eau Claire.

Fantastic Fabrics

Sixty eight years ago, Hastings Way looked a lot different than it does today. Where in 2018 it’s lined with bustling small businesses, back in 1950 there was a gas station, a bowling alley, a grocery store, a couple restaurants, and Muldoon’s Men’s Wear.

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