A dumpster sits outside the former Family Video store at the corner of McKee Road and Maple Grove Drive on Madison’s Southwest Side. The space is being remodeled for Romantix, an adult retailer that sells sex toys and other items, but is being opposed by many in the neighborhood.
Just a few weeks after adult retailer Adam & Eve opened a shop that sells lingerie, adult movies and sex toys on Odana Road, another similar company has plans to open a shop in a more residential area on Madison’s Southwest Side.
Few are happy about the plan from Romantix, a national retail chain with more than 50 locations around the country, but it’s likely there is little that can be done to stop the store from opening, since it appears to be following Madison’s established zoning ordinances.
The store, located in what had been a Family Video store at 3154 Maple Grove Dr., is a half block each from Wonderland Family Daycare and Bright Child Learning Center and adjacent to residential neighborhoods. El Imperio Mexican Food is located in the same building and in space that had been a Marco’s Pizza.
El Imperio Mexican Food has opened in the former Marco’s Pizza but the space that had been home to a Family Video is now being remodeled for a Romantix.
That’s why Madison Ald. Nasra Wehelie has scheduled a public zoom meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday that will include representatives from city zoning, the area neighborhood associations and Romantix.
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“My main goal is to listen, educate and communicate with my constituents,” Wehelie wrote in an e-mail. “A number of residents reached out expressing their concern about this business. The meeting on August 1st will give the opportunity to the residents to express their concerns to the business owner and hear from city staff from zoning who will provide information about the city process. Finally, the residents will have the opportunity to ask questions.”
This building had been home to a Marco’s Pizza and Family Video. El Imperio Mexican Food recently opened while a Romantix adult retail store is planned for the former video store space. Many in the Southwest Side neighborhood welcome the restaurant but not Romantix.
The store would be the first for the company in Wisconsin but Iowa is home to six Roamntix shops. Illinois has two, Minnesota none but North Dakota has four, three of which are in Fargo, according to its website. The company says it maintains “the largest selection of vibrators, dildos, sexy lingerie, and other erotic accessories” and that its sex toys, lubricants and other products “are selected for people of all genders, ages and sexual orientation.”
“It is not suitable for the area,” Wehelie wrote. “Additionally, this business will be located where young children walk, and ride their bikes.”
Ken Brown, vice president of the Stone Meadows Neighborhood Association, said the opening of the Adam & Eve store on Odana Road was in a retail corridor with little housing. The Romantix store is unexpected and unwanted by his neighborhood.
“We would have liked to have had a little more retail but we certainly were not looking for this,” said Brown, who has lived in the neighborhood since 1999. “It’s not like it’s completely shunned but nobody wants an overabundance of these and you don’t want to see them in a residential neighborhood like this. The people coming in have done their homework but I’m not sure how long a business can stay in business if it’s not supported.”
Photos: Musky Fool Fly Fishing Co.
Musky Fool Fly Fishing Co.
Musky Fool Fly Fishing Co. is located in a historic building in downtown Waunakee and is the only stand-alone fly shop in Dane County.
Musky Fool Fly Fishing Co.
Dan Donovan, co-founder of Musky Fool Fly Fishing Co., looks over a mural on the side of his shop in downtown Waunakee. The image was recreated from a painting in a decades old fishing magazine.
Musky Fool Fly Fishing Co.
Leaders, sppols of line and other equipment fill a wall at Musky Fool Fly Fish Co.
Musky Fool Fly Fishing Co.
Besides fly fishing tackle, Musky Fool Fly Fishing Co. carries apparel and waders.
Musky Fool Fly Fishing Co.
John Currier, 64, of Waunakee, made his first trip to Musky Fool Fly Fishing Co. on Wednesday. Currier has been fishing for decades.
Musky Fool Fly Fishing Co.
Feathers used to make muskie flies fill a vintage minnow bucket at Musky Fool Fly Fishing Co. in downtown Waunakee.
Musky Fool Fly Fishing Co.
Muskie flies, some more than a foot long and over $30 apiece, fill a wall at Musky Fool Fly Fishing Co. in Waunakee. The shop, which opened July 23, also sells flies and gear for trout, bass and other species.
Musky Fool Fly Fishing Co.
The space now occupied by Musky Fool Fly Fishing Co. once held a pumper truck for the Waunakee Fire Department. The wooden racks holding the fly rods are made from old firefighting axes.
Musky Fool Fly Fishing Co.
Bins of flies for trout and bass greet customers as they walk into Musky Fool Fly Fishing Co. in Waunakee. Muskie flies can be seen in the upper left.
Musky Fool Fly Fishing Co.
Musky Fool Fly Fishing Co. is a destination shop in downtown Waunakee. About 25% of the company’s revenue will come from the store, the remaining 75% from on-line sales.
Musky Fool Fly Fishing Co.
Musky Fool Fly Fishing Co. in Waunakee.
Musky Fool Fly Fishing Co.
Dan Donovan, co-founder of Musky Fool Fly Fishing Co., speaks with a customer on Wednesday, four days after opening the shop in downtown Waunakee.
Musky Fool Fly Fishing Co.
Dan Donovan, 31, has a background in finance while his wife, Jenn Donovan, is a retail executive with Duluth Trading Co. in Mount Horeb. The couple’s Musky Fool Fly Fishing Co. in downtown Waunakee is a destination shop for area anglers.
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