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Aug 29, 2023

Steve Cahalan: Downtown gets new cafe and luxury sportswear store, while plant shop moves

Steve Cahalan Downtown La Crosse has a new Free Range Exchange cafe and will get a new St. Croix La Crosse luxury men’s sportswear store next week. Meanwhile, the Another Green World Premium Plant

Steve Cahalan

Downtown La Crosse has a new Free Range Exchange cafe and will get a new St. Croix La Crosse luxury men’s sportswear store next week. Meanwhile, the Another Green World Premium Plant Shop & Studio has moved on the city’s North Side.

Two La Crescent-area couples opened their second Free Range Exchange on July 17 at 215 N. Third St., in the north end of the former Wettstein’s appliance store in downtown La Crosse.

“We are a coffee shop, cafe and mini-farmers market,” Ben Horn said of both locations. He, his wife, Ava, and their longtime friends Cambria Kolstad-DeVaney and her husband, Dan DeVaney, opened their first Free Range Exchange in November 2019 at 46 Main St. in downtown Hokah.

Free Range Exchange’s owners are leasing their new La Crosse space, which is in what’s now Gundersen Health System’s Dental Specialties building. The new location has both indoor and outdoor seating. As part of the major remodel of its space, a garage door was installed that will be open “almost every day” Horn said. The garage door will be open even on mild winter days, thanks to an air curtain.

Ben Horn poses behind the counter at the Free Range Exchange's second location, which opened July 17 at 215 N. Third St. in downtown La Crosse. He and three other La Crescent-area residents own the La Crosse business as well as the original Free Range Exchange at 46 Main St. in downtown Hokah.

Like the original Hokah location, the new La Crosse business uses locally sourced ingredients as much as possible to make its breakfast and lunch sandwiches, wraps, salads, soups, coffee and baked goods. The most popular baked items at the La Crosse location include muffins, scones, cookies and granola, Horn said.

“We have full coffee service,” Horn said, using coffee from three area roasters — Bean Juice in La Crosse, Carlson Roasting Co. in Houston and Heart Rock Coffee in Spring Grove. The new Free Range Exchange also has teas and smoothies that are made from scratch with fruit. And it has refrigerated grab-and-go items such as salads, veggie wraps, chicken salad wraps, parfaits and cold beverages.

The new location also sells locally produced merchandise such as maple syrup, honey, soaps and THC-infused beverages, as well as travel mugs, apparel and Free Range Exchange’s own line of supplements.

“Right now, hours are 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday,” Horn said. “We have plans to eventually be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. And we hope to be open on Sundays by springtime, at both locations.”

From left, owners Ben and Ava Horn, and Cambria Kolstad-DeVaney and Dan DeVaney, pose outside their original Free Range Exchange coffee shop, cafe and mini-farmers market at 46 Main St. in downtown Hokah. The Hokah location opened in November 2019.

For more information, call 608-519-1566 or visit the Free Range Exchange-La Crosse Facebook page.

The new St. Croix La Crosse luxury men’s sportswear store will open Thursday at 210 S. Fourth St. in downtown La Crosse. It will sell St. Croix luxury sweaters, knitwear and outwear made by Knitcraft Corp. in Winona, Minnesota, as well as a coordinated collection of sports shirts, trousers, blazers and socks made for St. Croix by manufacturers in Italy. The store also will sell American-made belts, exclusive fragrances and denim.

Knitcraft produces St. Croix apparel for St. Croix boutiques, as well as for premium men’s specialty stores across the nation. Knitcraft founder, president and CEO Bernhard Brenner will attend a grand opening/open house at the new store that the public is invited to from 4 to 7 p.m. Aug. 31. The event will feature food, drinks and welcome incentives, St. Croix officials said in a press release.

The new La Crosse store will feature the most extensive collection of St. Croix luxury men’s sportswear in Wisconsin, according to the press release. St. Croix apparel is handcrafted primarily of sustainable natural fibers using the highest-quality raw materials from around the world, including rare baby cashmere and the softest Merino wools from New Zealand, it said.

St. Croix boutiques are independently owned and operated.

Hours at the new La Crosse store will be noon to 5 p.m. Sunday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. For more information, call the store at 608-881-6881 or visit www.stcroixcollections.com/locations/lacrosse or the store’s Facebook or Instagram pages.

Zack Gaugush and Linda Vale opened their Another Green World Premium Plant Shop & Studio on Aug. 2 at its new location at 1230 Caledonia St. on the city’s North Side. It moved there from across the street at 1231 Caledonia St., where it initially opened last Sept. 28.

Gaugush and Vale plan to hold a one-year anniversary celebration at their store Sept. 28 and noted that is the same day as the Oktoberfest Torchlight Parade.

“We focus on indoor house plants, including tropical foliage,” Gaugush said. “We also carry a wide selection of plant pots, and we sell growing supplies such as worm castings and other fertilizers.” The store also sells things made by local artists, such as plant pots, jewelry and home decor. And it has space for planting workshops and special events such as restorative yoga.

“We’ve had wonderful success this first year, with lots of community support for our small business,” Vale said. “We pride ourselves on being able to support people who have lots of plants at home, as well as people who are beginners in the plant world or who want to build their plant knowledge. Our plant workshops are also a great fit for team-building experiences for businesses and classrooms.”

Store hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

For more information, visit Another Green World’s Facebook or Instagram pages.

Steve Cahalan writes about business news and can be reached at [email protected].

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