At 109 N. Cecil St., Good Vibes Bar & Grill has two new overhead doors. Just up the street, at 113 N. Cecil, The Glenn Lounge & Grill opened in March with new windows, doors and flooring. On the south end, 4Z Pet Spa at 300 S. Cecil has been repainted and has a new driveway. Archer & Bliss Floral at 206 S. Cecil put up new signage this spring and is now replacing its flat roof with trusses and metal.
All four projects were partly paid for by the same state grant, which the Village's Redevelopment Authority has been giving out one storefront at a time since fall 2025.
One State Grant, Split About Ten Ways
On July 29, 2025, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation announced a $100,000 Small Business Development Grant for the Village of Bonduel, to be used for improving downtown commercial property. The Village gave the money to its Redevelopment Authority, the RDA, which runs it as the Downtown Business Grant Program.
The program guidelines set the terms. A grant covers up to 50% of eligible project costs, tops out at $10,000, and is paid back to the owner only "upon satisfactory completion of the project." The owner has to put up at least half of the total cost. Each commercial property gets one grant, and tenants can apply if the property owner signs off in writing.
Do the math on a $100,000 pot with a $10,000 cap and you get about ten full-size awards. That is close to how many storefronts in the business district have changed since fall 2025.
Why Every Project Is a Door, a Roof or a Sign
Those rules decided what kind of work got done. The owner pays the contractor first and the RDA pays back its share afterward, so the projects that work best have a clear price and a clear finish date. Approved work has to be done within six months of signing the grant agreement, with paid invoices and proof of payment turned in before any money comes back.
A 50% match also limits the size of each job. Archer & Bliss is a good example. The florist already had a small signage grant. Its new roof is estimated at $21,800, and on Aug. 4, 2026, the RDA approved half of that, $10,900, as a second grant. That award is above the $10,000 maximum in the published guidelines, and it is the property's second grant, even though the guidelines describe a one-time grant. Most of the projects are about that size: a roof, a pair of doors, a paint job, a paved lot.
At a downtown business meeting at The Glenn on May 12, 2026, RDA member Lisa Hughes said the funded projects "have varied in scope," but "each has focused on some form of façade improvement."
Block by Block
This is where the money went, based on the RDA's minutes from fall 2025 through August 2026.
| Business | Address | Work | Grant | Latest recorded status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Glenn Lounge & Grill | 113 N. Cecil St. | Windows, doors, building materials, flooring | $10,000 | Final reimbursement approved April 28, 2026 |
| Good Vibes Bar & Grill | 109 N. Cecil St. | Two overhead doors, exterior paint | $10,000 | Doors installed; $5,800.85 reimbursed Aug. 4, 2026; painting still planned |
| LK Reflections | 154 N. Cecil St. | Entryway flooring | Up to $10,000 | Final reimbursement of $4,506.33 approved April 28, 2026 |
| The Mill Bonduel | 201 S. Cecil St. | Ramp, stairs, building, exterior signage | $5,050 | Awarded June 2026 |
| Archer & Bliss Floral | 206 S. Cecil St. | Signage, then flat roof replaced with trusses and metal | $625, then $10,900 | Signage reimbursed March 2026; roof approved Aug. 4, 2026 |
| Griesbach Solutions | 235 S. Cecil St. | Milling, grading and paving the parking area | $10,000 | Awarded Oct. 14, 2025 |
| Bonduel Auto | 249 S. Cecil St. | Roof replacement | $5,500 | Awarded Feb. 2026; work expected May to June |
| 4Z Pet Spa | 300 S. Cecil St. | Paint, windows, electrical, driveway and parking | $10,000 | $7,884.43 reimbursed April 28, 2026 |
| Katie Jane Interiors and Mill St. Customs | 112 W. Mill St. | Grading, doors, signage, lighting | $10,000 | Reimbursement request on Sept. 15, 2026 RDA agenda |
| Building owner | 126 E. Green Bay St. | Siding, windows, doors, awning, interior flooring | $10,000 | Awarded Aug. 4, 2026 |
Nearly everything on the list sits on Cecil Street, from 109 N. Cecil down to 300 S. Cecil. That makes sense. Cecil is the main street of the business district the program covers, and it is where people stop when they come into the village.
The Glenn shows how a grant fits into a bigger plan. Owners Nikki and Jeff Bougie opened the lounge in March 2026. The Shawano Leader described a small fresh-food menu, cocktails and early hours on Friday and Saturday. The same Shawano Leader story reported that the baker rents retail space inside the lounge, so customers of The Glenn can buy her sourdough offerings there. Local 5 Live reported that the partnership, Molly's Downtown Bakery, makes the items on The Glenn's menu. The grant paid for half of the windows, doors and flooring. The RDA approved the last $705.77 reimbursement on April 28, which used up the full award.
The Deadline Behind the Timing
This explains why the work has been bunched together. When the grant was announced, the Shawano Leader reported that the money had to be allocated by the end of 2026. The RDA's own Aug. 4 minutes just say the deadline to allocate and spend the funds "is approaching this fall."
The money went out in stages. As of the May 12 meeting, more than $60,000 had been awarded and about $39,000 was still available "before the end of the year." In August, the RDA approved two more awards, $10,900 for Archer & Bliss and $10,000 for 126 E. Green Bay, and paid Good Vibes its first reimbursement on a grant approved in November 2025.
The same August minutes show the RDA watching the calendar. Three businesses had not turned in any receipts and were close to their six-month deadlines, so the Village sent them reminder letters. If those projects don't go ahead, the minutes say the money could go to other businesses that apply. The committee "emphasized the importance of fully utilizing the State-provided funds."
That means some of the work on the list should be finished before winter. Good Vibes still plans to paint its exterior. Archer & Bliss has its roof to do. The 126 E. Green Bay project is in its first months. If you see ladders and scaffolding on Cecil Street this fall, the end-of-year deadline is a big part of the reason.
The Business Moving In at 107 E. Green Bay
Another change one block east of Cecil isn't part of the grant program, but it is part of the same downtown shift. Jason Hutter's Little Village Pizza Crusts wants to use 107 E. Green Bay St. as a cooling and packaging facility. On Sept. 21, 2026, the Plan Commission voted unanimously to recommend a conditional-use permit that would allow food preparation, packaging and light industrial production there. The state Department of Safety and Professional Services had already given conditional approval to the building changes, and the zoning stays commercial. The permit was on the Village Board's Oct. 14 agenda for possible action.
Some Bonduel diners already know the Hutters. The Shawano Leader reported in February that Jason and Melissa Hutter sold Amico's Midwest Pizzeria to Lauren and Jerred Laubscher in July 2025 and then ran Little Village Pizza Crusts, and that Amico's still buys its crusts and dough balls from them. The company describes itself as a Bonduel maker of custom crusts, dough balls and private-label products for vendors, restaurants and food-service businesses. Its website lists 109 E. Green Bay St. The new permit is for the building next door at 107.
What Downtown Owners Asked For Next
The May 12 meeting at The Glenn covered more than grants. Business owners from Lawrenz's Sausage Shop, The Mill, Vargas Martial Arts, Griesbach Chiropractic, LK Reflections and Bonduel State Bank were there. One main concern was slowing traffic in certain areas, and someone suggested crosswalks with flashing pedestrian lights. Owners also brought up decorative planters and murals "that could encourage visitors to stop and spend time in the Village."
The RDA has started on some of this. Hughes gave updates on Fireman's Park, the Farmers Market, cleaning up downtown utility poles and new wayfinding signs around the village. In August, the RDA took the wayfinding sign project off its agenda until it gets more information. The facade grants paid for work on individual buildings. The crosswalks, planters and murals came up as ideas at the May meeting, and no money was set aside for them there.
Dates on the Village Calendar
- Oct. 20, 5:30 p.m. The RDA's scheduled meeting. Its minutes will be the next public record of where the grant money stands.
- Oct. 20 to Nov. 19. Fall leaf pickup runs Tuesdays through Thursdays, and large items can go to the Bonduel Recycling Center at 507 North St. on the scheduled drop-off days.
- Oct. 31, 5 to 7 p.m. Village trick-or-treating, so it's a good evening to walk Cecil Street.
- End of 2026. The deadline the Shawano Leader reported for allocating the state grant money.
If you own a building on Cecil Street and want to know how this year's improvements could affect its value, or what similar downtown properties have recently sold for, Jim Liesner can walk through the numbers with you. Request a free home valuation or schedule a free consultation, and you'll get a straight answer based on what's actually changed on the block.
