Herbiery is slated to open a tap and tasting room on Madison’s East Side come June.
A brewery and bike shop that also plans to serve coffee and tacos. A tattoo parlor. A home décor store.
All are businesses that have opened or soon will in the village of Oregon, each looking to fill a niche in the local market.
Inside a newly constructed 6,400-square-foot building at 201 Concord Dr. in the village is Bodihow Brewing Company, and right next to it is Oregon Bicycle Company.
Here, Oregon residents and visitors have a one-stop shop for food, bikes and equipment, a full-service bike repair shop, coffee and beer, said co-owner Jamie Bush, who also owns Headquarters Bar & Grill a parking lot away.
Bush said Bodihow and the bike shop, which he runs with co-owners Scot Williams and McCann Schroeder, are planning a soft opening this month with a limited menu. A grand opening is contingent upon permits for running the brewery.
Oregon Bicycle Company is located at 201 Concord Dr. The business also includes a brewery.
Inside, one side will house the brewery and the other side the bicycle shop. There’s a small garden in the center of the building where the business is growing its own herbs for beers, Bush said.
Street tacos are made with original recipes and Bodihow plans to sell coffee from local coffee supplier True Coffee Roasters, which has cafes around Dane County. Bodihow also plans to eventually host community events like weekend bike rides and runs, Bush said. The business wants to hire around 30 employees.
“You can’t find this in Madison,” Williams said.
Over on Main Street, MorningStar Tattoo opened this month, said co-owner and tattoo artist Braden Williams. When the shop first opened, peopled lined up out the door to set up appointments. Williams and his business partner, the only other employee, are booked now through the fall.
Previously, Oregon residents would have to drive to Stoughton or Madison to get their body art, the Oregon native said, and the nearly 1,000-square-foot North Main Street building was home to a realtor, and before that, a shop offering CBD, or cannabidiol, products.
Co-owners of Bodihow Brewing Company Jamie Bush and McCann Schroeder, converse inside the business, which is opening soon.
Williams said his tattoo style is more “illustrative and neotraditional,” while his partner’s “has a vintage American” style. Both charge $150 an hour for appointments.
He thinks that the village is increasingly becoming more attractive to younger people like himself. The village of Oregon is already home to the popular Firefly Coffeehouse, a yoga studio, a bookstore, several restaurants and other eclectic businesses.
Home décor store Clementine’s Gifts & More also set up shop on Main Street. Co-owner Julie Umhoefer said the store is currently looking to hire more employees as it gears up for its opening, which will likely be at the end of the month.
Bodihow Brewing Company has an herb garden at the business that it uses for its brews.
“Clementine’s will be a home décor and Oregon spirit wear boutique store,” she said. “My sister and I are Oregon residents with five kids in the school district, and we saw a need for this type of local business.”
Umhoefer, with her sister Jennifer Haley, also owns furniture store Dwellings in Fitchburg.
Oregon officials find all this new business activity beneficial for the village, which has a population of about 11,400 people.
“We definitely feel there is an increasing demand and interest from the private side on commercial development in Oregon,” said Martin Shanks, Oregon administrator. “Our downtown has also been able to consistently have low vacancy rates for commercial uses. It seems like when one leaves, another jumps in.
“We are definitely seeing a shift at the policy making level and from residents expressing a desire to place greater emphasis on mixed use and commercial developments.”
“Our downtown has also been able to consistently have low vacancy rates for commercial uses. It seems like when one leaves, another jumps in.”
Martin Shanks, Oregon’s village administrator