Gempler’s is excited to announce that we have opened a retail store in the old Artisan Woods space. The opening is scheduled for this weekend and will be our second location in Mt Horeb. We moved the product and marketing teams to Mt Horeb in early 2019, with a small office above the post office. Our distribution center and customer service teams make their home in Janesville; we are Wisconsin through and through. The store will be a great way to meet customers and build the brand. We are excited to announce two long time village residents, Sean Johnson – Head of Business Development and Polly Rosborough – Store Manager, are heading up the venture.

The location is ideal, and the business community is very well suited for entrepreneurs. We have been impressed and encouraged by the entrepreneurs in the village that are doing so many interesting and innovative things. Every week I hear of yet another cool story or person. It’s invigorating to be around other people and businesses who have found their way or are trying to find it. The community is small and well connected, making it ideal for meeting people and developing relationships. Gemplers started in Mount Horeb and saw some of its best days, so returning here makes sense. Come see us soon!

Find more at gemplers.com or visit their new store now open on Main Street.

Property highlights: a sampling of opportunities in our village. Please reach out for further properties or what you are looking for.

“It’s not how much we give, but how much love we put into the giving.” -- Mother Teresa

On a chilly but seasonable Friday afternoon in late January, a steady stream of vehicles flowed through the snow-covered parking lot outside Neighbors Helping Neighbors’ facility just off the beaten path downtown.

At this weekly contactless, drive-through food distribution, necessitated by the ongoing pandemic, grateful customers of all ages, family arrangements, and income levels received a nutritious variety of produce, meats, dairy, packaged staples like flour and peanut butter, personal care essentials like toilet paper and shampoo, and their choice of weekly food specials that included gems like a block of hard cheddar from world-renowned cheesemaker Willi Lehner.

The following morning, shoppers descended on the adjacent Clothes Closet and made their way through aisles of donated in-season clothing, carefully sorted by department and by size, with name-brand finds on nearly every rack. Earlier that week, NHN president Janna Hansen had connected an area family with fellow nonprofit organization Porchlight, which provides people a pathway to stable housing thanks to funding from NHN.

For our neighbors in need, there is no cost to these services. Yet they are priceless.

The vision of a one-stop resource hub in Mount Horeb has become a reality, thanks to the financial generosity of businesses and individuals in our community, a network of partners who provide truckloads of food every week, and an army of dedicated volunteers from 15 partner churches and the community at large.

An outgrowth of the Clothes Closet, which has served the community since 1997, NHN intended to ramp up gradually in 2020. That all changed once Covid-19 hit. NHN established a mobile food pantry in March at the Mount Horeb United Methodist Church, shifted operations to its expanded home at 102 E. Lincoln St. in July, and merged with Blue Mounds Food Pantry late in the year to enhance its coverage of the Mount Horeb Area School District service area.

By year’s end, NHN had served more than 9,200 food shoppers and nearly 1,000 clothing shoppers in 2020. That translates to an average of 115 unique families served per month.

NHN was formed on the premise we can elevate the quality of life for everyone in Mount Horeb by providing/connecting our most vulnerable citizens with resources that can empower them to move from a survival mode to a place where they are able to thrive and prosper.

The heightened need for these services shows no signs of letting up through the early months of 2021, and NHN invites you to “put your love into the giving,” as Mother Teresa said so eloquently. For information about donating, volunteering and connecting people in need with our services, go to mthorebneighbors.org.

We met virtually with Jason and Paul Jadin in late January and thanked Paul, his predecessor, for all of his help over the last couple of years. We look forward to working with Jason and promoting the greater Dane County area as a great place to live and do business.

Some information about Jason: Jason joined the Madison Region Economic Partnership in January 2021. Prior to joining MadREP, he served as a Wisconsin State Legislator. Jason represents the United States as a senator of the World Business Angel Investment Forum (WBAF). He is the founder of The Financial Promise Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization that teaches personal financial & business literacy. He is also the Founder and Managing Director of Dark Knight Capital Ventures, a venture fund that seeks to invest in underrepresented founders across America.

Return to Work: Businesses must show they are prepared to keep employees, customers and other guests safe. YouTube link